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<br />5 <br /> <br />Immigrant and Refugee Populations <br />Orange County’s foreign born population (13%) continues to be concentrated in the southern part of the <br />county, with Hispanic/Latino and Asian immigrants/refugees as the majority. The Hispanic/Latino <br />immigrant population is mostly from Mexico, with smaller percentages from Central and South America; <br />while the Asian immigrant population is mostly from China, followed by India, Korea and Burma. In <br />Carrboro, where the foreign-born population is the largest (20.1%), there are higher concentrations of <br />refugees from Burma, while Chapel Hill has higher concentrations of Asian Indian and Korean <br />immigrants6. For many years, we have mostly resettled refugees from Burma, representing ethnic <br />Burmese, Karen, Chin and additional ethnic groups of various cultures and languages (see table 2). <br /> <br />Table 2: Direct Refugee Arrivals, Orange County, NC7 <br />Fiscal Year New Direct Refugee Arrivals Countries of Origin <br />2005-2006 19 14 Burma, 4 Cuba, 1 Iran <br />2006-2007 55 55 Burma <br />2007-2008 255 248 Burma, 4 Colombia, 3 Iran <br />2008-2009 194 181 Burma, 6 Bhutan, 4 Iran, 3 Iraq <br />2009-2010 57 54 Burma, 2 Congo, 1 Haiti <br />2010-2011 86 78 Burma, 8 Laos <br />2011-2012 53 53 Burma <br />2012-2013 83 78 Burma, 5 Congo <br />2013-2014 80 79 Burma, 1 Cameroon <br />2014-2015 54 44 Burma, 3 Congo, 3 Nepal, 3 Iraq, 1 Iran <br />TOTAL 936 Total from Burma: 884 <br /> <br />With diverse ethnicities and countries of origin, Orange County also experiences linguistic diversity and <br />varied levels of English proficiency within its residents. Over 16% of county residents speak a language <br />other than English at home, with 37.4% of those speaking English “less than very well.” Most Limited <br />English Proficient (LEP) residents live in Carrboro or Chapel Hill and are either Spanish-speakers or <br />speakers of Asian languages (see table 3). Orange County anticipates several dozen Syrian refugees and <br />potentially more refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the coming year. <br /> <br />Table 3: Primary Languages Spoken by LEP Residents in Chapel Hill and Carrboro 8 <br />Language Spoken at Home % Carrboro LEP Residents % Chapel Hill LEP Residents <br />Spanish 65.3% 34.0% <br />Asian Languages 29.0% 46.6% <br /> <br />