The Obama administration plans to admit 10,000 more in the coming federal fiscal year that starts October 1.
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The Obama administration is aiming to increase its target goal for 2017, according to Al Jazeera.
It’s important to note that the number of Syrians resettled in the U.S.is a minuscule percentage of the total number of Syrian refugees who have fled from the ongoing war. In October 2015, fewer than 200 were resettled, and that number rose higher than 2,000 in June, July, and August. The District does not resettle refugees.
“The president is gratified that we have succeeded in meeting this goal”, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in his own statement Monday. Obama would like to see a “ramping up of those efforts” but is realistic about how quickly that could happen, he said.
The administration also admitted that the process faced by Syrian refugees is one of the most rigorous and takes about 12 to 18 months to complete.
The resettlement program has emerged as an issue in the USA presidential campaign, with Republican nominee Donald Trump alleging displaced Syrians pose a potential security threat.
Administration officials dismissed concerns about terrorists hiding among the refugees. A poll last month by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that just 36 percent of Americans support admitting Syrian refugees to the U.S. Though the United States has accepted thousands of refugees-and, according to Wells, contributed almost $5.6 billion in humanitarian aid over the past four years-much more remains to be done to help the war-torn country and those who have been displaced. He said 92 percent of applications get approved, while 8 percent are rejected, according to The Times.
The Syrian government’s onslaught against rebel forces opposing Bashar al Assad’s authoritarian rule has killed an estimated 400,000 people while displacing millions of refugees since March 2011.
The resettlement program focuses on the most vulnerable refugees, including those who were subjected to violence or torture or are sick. Glendale, Arizona has taken in nearly 370 in 2016 so far. In fiscal year 2015, the USA accepted 1,500 Syrian refugees.
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Between February and April, Department of Homeland Security officers carried out interviews in Jordan with around 12,000 Syrian refugee applicants referred by the United Nations refugee agency, Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard told a briefing earlier this month.
