By Jordan Fabian
President Obama has directed his administration to take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees, a dramatic increase over the number it accepted in 2015.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday the U.S. will “accept at least 10,000 refugees in the next fiscal year,” beginning Oct. 1.
It’s most significant step the U.S. has taken yet to resettle the thousands of people who are fleeing war-torn Syria. The exodus has overwhelmed neighboring European nations, with the migrants often marching up to their borders in search of asylum.
The crisis has drawn international headlines and emerged as a focal point of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The
administration has faced mounting criticism from lawmakers and
human-rights groups over the crisis, with many arguing the U.S.
has not done enough to help.
Secretary of State John Kerry
privately informed members of Congress on Wednesday that the
U.S. plans to raise its worldwide cap on refugees, which stands
at 70,000, in order to resettle more Syrians.
“We are looking to increase the number beyond 70,000,” Earnest
said Thursday.
The United States plans to resettle 1,800 refugees from Syria by
Oct. 1, far less than countries such as Germany, Austria and the
United Kingdom have agreed to accept.
Germany expects to take in 800,000 displaced Syrians by the end
of the year.
An estimated 4 million Syrians have fled the multi-faction
conflict involving government forces, rebels and the Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) over the past four years.
The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees has recommended
that 18,000 Syrians resettle in the U.S. — 10 times as many as
the country plans to take in this year.
But administration officials have said a strenuous screening
process to prevent criminals and terrorists from entering the
country has made it difficult to take in more refugees.
That process can take anywhere between 18 and 24 months, a
senior State Department official said Wednesday.
Obama’s move failed to satisfy some human-rights groups, which
have called on the U.S. to take in anywhere from 65,000 to
100,000 Syrians by the end of next year.
“This is not leadership, it is barely a token contribution given
the size and scale of the global emergency,” said Eleanor Acer,
an official with Human Rights First.
Earnest said the White House would urge other nations that do
not typically welcome refugees to take in displaced Syrians.
But he added there are no plans to change the rigorous
background check process for refugees.
"To scale up to a degree that some members of Congress may have
in mind, would have some significant fiscal consequences,"
Earnest said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a presidential candidate who
oversees State Department funding in the Senate, has proposed an
emergency spending bill to help address the crisis.
But other Republicans running for the White House have rejected
taking in more of the refugees.
The issue is sure to be a flashpoint in the Republican
presidential debate next week, which could raise pressure on GOP
lawmakers on Capitol Hill to take a tougher line against a more
generous refugee policy.
Syria is a hotbed of activity for Islamic militants, with many
of them fighting in the country's long-running civil war.
Instead of taking in more refugees, GOP candidates say Obama
should step up the fight against ISIS.
“No, we shouldn’t be taking on any more Syrian refugees right
now,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
said Wednesday, one day after refusing to comment on the
crisis.
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump appeared backtrack on his claim the
U.S. should take in more Syrians, saying the country has more
pressing issues to address.
"We have our own problems, we have very big problems between our
own borders and our infrastructure and everything else," Trump
told CNN Wednesday.
On the Democratic side, presidential candidate Martin O’Malley,
has called on the U.S. to take in as many as 65,000 refugees
from Syria by the end of next year. Hillary Clinton has called
for a global conference to tackle the crisis.
This story was last updated at 4:10 p.m. Mark Hensch
contributed.
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