Significant funding is included in the state budget to help refugees who want to make New York their home. 

Senator Sean Ryan and Assemblymember Jon Rivera say $3 million will go to the state "Services To Refugees" program.   

That’s $2 million more than was included in last year’s budget. And this time, the money targets upstate cities and towns.

The goal is to keep refugees secure safe housing and support them as they integrate into communities.

Ryan and Rivera say 90% of New York’s refugees are resettled in cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Utica and Albany.

A total of 16,000 refugees have settled in the Buffalo region since 2002.