Get ready for 85,000 refugees in 2016
September 21, 2015
17 Comments
on
John Kerry said in a statement Sunday that President Obama plans to increase the number of refugees allowed into the United States.
Currently, the United States grants 70,000 refugee visas per year. Under the new plan, 85,000 refugees will be granted access to the US in 2016, up to a grand total of 100,000 in 2017. Officials say that the bulk of those additional refugees will come from Syria, as well as troubled areas in Africa.
More from the New York Times:
“This step is in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope,” Mr. Kerry said, adding that it “will be accompanied by additional financial contributions” for the relief effort. ... Four million Syrians have fled to other countries, and hundreds of thousands of others from the Middle East and Africa have been pouring into Europe. Mr. Kerry said the United States would explore ways to increase the overall limit of refugees beyond 100,000, while carrying out background checks to ensure that they are not infiltrated by terrorists. “We still need to do more, and we understand that,” Mr. Kerry said in a joint news conference with Mr. Steinmeier.