# Refugee Resettlement Programs Office *Office of the Minnesota Department of Human Services for refugee resettlement* The **Refugee Resettlement Programs Office** is an office of the [[Minnesota Department of Human Services]] (DHS). A 2026 project dossier, citing the department's resettlement pages, describes it as the state custodian that administers refugee placement together with voluntary resettlement agencies.[^1] A validated project passage names the office as one part of the pre-2023 architecture for [[Minnesota]]'s new-immigrant work. The other part was the state's 2021 entry into the states' New-Americans economic-integration network (ANAEI).[^2] The placement work is measured in arrivals. The [[Minnesota Department of Health]]'s *2023 Refugee Health Report* counts 1,123 primary refugee arrivals in Hennepin County, 971 in Ramsey County and 169 in Stearns County in calendar 2023.[^3] The same report ranks Stearns County among the state's top destinations for secondary arrivals.[^3] ## History The project passage presents the DHS office and the 2021 ANAEI entry as the arrangement that existed before the 2023 legislative session.[^2] In that session the [[Office of New Americans]] was created at [[Minn. Stat. § 116J.4231]]. It was funded at $750,000 a year out of the One Minnesota Budget that Walz signed on May 24, 2023.[^2] The new office is housed in DEED and advised by an interdepartmental council. It files a statutory annual report, and its FY25 report was issued on January 9, 2026.[^2] The same passage adds a naming caveat. In its words, "Office of New Minnesotans" is the state's constituency framing, "not a separate historical agency".[^2] The passage does not say whether the DHS office's duties changed after 2023. The dossier note of September 2026 still describes the office as the state custodian that administers placement.[^1] ## Arrivals The Department of Health report gives the 2023 primary-arrival counts by county of first residence: - Hennepin County: 1,123[^3] - Ramsey County: 971[^3] - Stearns County: 169[^3] The report also tracks secondary arrivals. These are people who relocate to Minnesota after first being resettled elsewhere, and Stearns County ranks among the state's top destinations for them.[^3] The pack does not carry a statewide total for 2023. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The office is an office of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.[^2] It works with voluntary resettlement agencies in administering placement.[^1] ### What - The office administers refugee placement as the state custodian, according to the 2026 dossier note.[^1] It is named as part of the pre-2023 architecture for the state's new-immigrant work, alongside Minnesota's 2021 ANAEI entry.[^2] ### When - The office is placed in the pre-2023 architecture, which preceded the 2023 creation of the Office of New Americans.[^2] The 2026 dossier note still describes it as the current custodian.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, *Arrival map* (Refugee Resettlement Programs Office pages; undated, cited in project dossier note 26, 2026-09-01). Cited for the description of the DHS Refugee Resettlement Programs Office as the state custodian that administers placement together with voluntary resettlement agencies. https://mn.gov/dhs/resettlement/news-reports-updates/arrival-map/ [^2]: Project dossier, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), validated passage and note 33. Cited for the pre-2023 architecture (the DHS Refugee Resettlement Programs Office and the 2021 ANAEI entry), the 2023 creation of the Office of New Americans at Minn. Stat. § 116J.4231, its funding, housing, council and annual report, and the naming caveat. (No URL for this document is in the pack.) [^3]: Minnesota Department of Health, *2023 Refugee Health Report* (calendar-2023 data). Cited for primary refugee arrivals in calendar 2023 (Hennepin 1,123; Ramsey 971; Stearns 169) and for Stearns County's rank among the top destinations for secondary arrivals. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/rih/stats/23rhrpt.pdf