The White House says the United States on Monday will meet President Barack Obama’s goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country during the current fiscal year.
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The news comes as Donald Trump continues to slam the president’s and Hillary Clinton’s immigration policies, especially in relation to Syrian refugees. The announcement came after the USA ambassador to Jordan, Alice Wells, told The Associated Press that several hundred Syrians would be departing from Jordan after Sunday.
About 10 percent of Syria’s population is Christian, but fewer than 0.5 percent of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S.in FY 2016 are Christians.
There are more than 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees now displaced by their country’s ongoing civil war, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. In 2009, two al-Qaeda operatives feigned refugee status from Iraq. The businessman has suggested the refugees coming to the US could be members of the terror organization ISIS.
UPDATE: The 10,000th refugee will be here this afternoon.
The issue has emerged as a major political flashpoint over the past year. A year ago, the White House announced a goal of admitting 10,000 refugees from Syria by the end of this September, but by the end of March less than 1,300 had been admitted. “But so many are still trapped in horrific conditions in refugee camps or war zones”. “Respecting Rights and Securing Solutions” details recommendations for the administration and Congress and aims to strengthen USA leadership on addressing the Syrian refugee crisis.
In November, FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress that there were “gaps” in the ability to adequately screen migrants coming from war-torn Syria, due to the lack of available information on them.
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The US took in 29 Syrian refugees in fiscal 2011, 31 in fiscal 2012, 36 in fiscal 2013, 105 in fiscal 2014 and 1,682 in fiscal 2015, according to the US state department. His running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, directed agencies in his state to attempt to prevent Syrian refugees from resettling there, and other Republican governors have also vowed to put up roadblocks. Following the assault, 53 percent of Americans said they believed the US should stop accepting refugees altogether. Of the 85,000, just 10,000 are Syrian refugees, though all we have heard about refugees has revolved around Syrians and their apparent likelihood of terrorism.
