Obama orders U.S. to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees

President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to prepare for at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, the White House said on Thursday.


ACE/INFphoto.com

This announcement comes amidst criticism that the United States has not done enough in humanitarian relief in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama had asked his team to “scale up” the number of refugees admitted from roughly 1,500 this fiscal year to 10,000 in the next, beginning Oct. 1.

"He has informed his team that he would like them to… accept at least 10,000 refugees in the next fiscal year," said Earnest.

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the United States has taken in 1,500 refugees, and while the U.S. has provided monetary aid to combat the humanitarian crisis, the White House has been under heavy pressure to do more than just provide money, reports the Jamaica Observer.

In the meantime, European countries have granted asylum to waves of fleeing migrants, notably with Germany admitting 20,000 refugees over the weekend, with plans of taking in 800,000 more this year.

Currently, the U.S. admits a total of 70,000 refugees globally, a number set to increase by 5,000 for the upcoming fiscal year beginning in October, as confirmed by Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday. That number could still increase, depending on Congressional fluidity.

In order to be admitted into the United States, Syrian refugees as well as refugees from the surrounding region must pass strict security checks, even after being registered by the United Nations, according to Business Insider.

It is estimated that approximately four million Syrians have fled during the four years of war.

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.