Amarillo is the largest city of the Texas Panhandle, with over 200,000 people. The city has also long been the destination for forcibly displaced people from around the world. As recently as 2014, Amarillo was taking in more refugees per capita than any other city in Texas (and 41st nationwide).

Over the past decades, hundreds of forcibly displaced newcomers have found their way to the Amarillo area each year. Many have been resettled as refugees through a resettlement agency such as Catholic Charities. Some have come with Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), such as many of the Afghans who previously worked alongside U.S. forces before the urgent crisis of 2021. Some have been sponsored privately. One program that has been prevalent over the past few years is called "humanitarian parole." This program provided a legal pathway for entry into the United States for people in certain countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Each legal program has its own rules, restrictions, timelines and pathways toward citizenship.

In addition to all of these programs, perhaps the majority of the immigrants who live in the area initially came to another city or state before relocating here to work in local industries, such as in meatpacking plants. People who first immigrated elsewhere before relocating are called "secondary migrants."