America Wants To Take in ‘Some More’ Refugees

In light of the European refugee crisis, the U.S. has been pressured to help. So far the world powers have taken in hardly [any] people from Syria. Now that should change. But will it be more than a symbolic gesture?

Since its founding more than two centuries ago, the United States has been a destination for refugees and the persecuted. America considers itself an exceptional nation, capable of offering a future to people from all over the world – despite populist campaigns against immigration, such as the one currently led by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Concerning the Syrian refugees, Washington has its own demands, but so far has not done them justice. Since the beginning of the civil war, they have only taken in around 1,500 Syrians.

Given the escalating refugee crisis in Europe, there is now growing pressure on President Barack Obama’s government. The news network CNN calculated that America currently offers protection to only 0.03 percent of the more than four million Syrian refugees who fled from their homeland and from the rule of jihadi militants, the Islamic State group and the forces of Bashar Assad. Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley called for the inclusion of 65,000 Syrian refugees.

O’Malley was joined by the International Rescue Committee in [making] demands. “The U.S. has historically been the world leader in recognizing the moral obligation to resettle refugees,” said the president and CEO of the IRC and former British foreign minister, David Miliband. “But in the four years of the Syria crisis there has been inertia rather than leadership.”

Fear of Islamists

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, hopes that the U.S. will let 15,000 Syrians into the country. However, the resettlement of refugees from camps in Jordan and Lebanon is a complicated process, and security concerns run throughout [the entire process]. The Americans completely investigate each candidate. Department of Homeland Security employees fly to the camps and conduct interviews with eligible families. There is a great fear that the United States will unknowingly allow Islamists to enter.

Obama’s Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz admitted on Wednesday that the United States has a “moral responsibility.” The White House is currently considering the provision of additional aid to Syrian refugees, details of which are expected by the end of the month. At that time, a general debate in the United Nations in New York about refugee policies will take place, as scheduled by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Taking In ‘Some More’ People

Those words have dominated the Republican dominated Congress, which must approve the funding for resettlement. Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks with delegates on Wednesday that the United States is ready to accept new refugees. “And we are looking hard at the number that we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in Syria and Europe,” said Kerry. He did not mention [an exact number]. A senior state department official said on Wednesday that in the last three years, his country has received about 70,000 refugees, and in 2016 there should be “some more.”

According to government sources, Kerry mentioned before Congress that an additional 5,000 persons should come into the country. A government adviser said that, in fact, the number could even be much higher.

Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria four years ago, the United States has taken in 1,500 Syrians. Germany took in 20,000 refugees last weekend alone and expects 800,000 within the year.

The U.S. government determines the cap on refugees for each financial year. Most recently, the limit was 70,000 and broken down by world regions. From Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, the limit is 33,000; for East Asian countries, 13,000 places were reserved; and for Africa, 17,000. The new quota must be established on Oct. 1 before the start of the 2016 financial year.

Even Trump Begins to Brood

The Republicans waver between warnings of possible terrorists and a humanitarian sense of duty to receive Syrian refugees. Even Trump, who unabashedly rumbles against illegal immigrants, began to brood on the news channel Fox News: “I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis, with what’s happening, you have to.”

On the other hand, there is no doubt among Republicans as to who is responsible for this crisis: Obama and his supposed weakness in foreign policy. “It is a mass exodus of refugees who are fleeing conflicts that this administration has refused to address for years,” says Republican Senator John McCain.