US to Admit More Syrian Refugees
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Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The United States will be increasing the number of Syrian refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. over the next few years, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard said in an interview with Al-Monitor, a website focused on Middle East news, on Tuesday.
Richard said the U.S. plans to absorb up to 10,000 refugees annually, up from 350 this year — a significant uptick despite its drop-in-the-bucket effect on the total Syrian refugee population of 3.3 million.
A separate official noted to ABC News that the increase will happen gradually.
“The Syrian program is relatively new, so I think we’ll begin to see an appreciable uptick in 2015 with an increasing number in the years to follow,” the official said.
The official explained that the U.S. receives about 1,000 new Syrian referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees each month.
The whole resettlement program involves several agencies and many steps, and takes between 18 and 24 months to complete, the official added.
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