U.S. Achieves Goal Of Bringing In 10,000 Syrian Refugees

The U.S. will welcome its 10,000th Syrian refugee on Aug. 29, fulfilling President Barack Obama’s promise to do so more than one month ahead of schedule.

The Syrians are part of a larger 85,000 refugees the U.S. admitted for the 2016 fiscal year from countries including Burma, Somalia, Iraq and El Salvador, CBS News reports.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that we will meet this goal more than a month ahead of schedule,” Susan Rice, the president’s national security adviser, wrote in an Aug. 29 statement. “Our 10,000th Syrian refugee will arrive this afternoon.”

In September 2015, President Obama promised to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the fiscal year — September 30, 2016.

“We know the scale of this problem,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said at the time. “It’s significant, and there are millions of people who have been driven from their homes because of this violence. It certainly is not feasible for millions of Syrians to come to this country. But what we can do is make sure that we are doing everything we can to try to provide for their basic needs.”

During the next three months, terror attacks in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, California, changed the willingness of many Americans to accept Syrian refugees. This backlash culminated in then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump calling for a moratorium on all Muslim immigrants.

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” a statement from the Trump campaign released on December 7, 2015 said, notes CNN.

The Obama administration flatly rejected Trump’s moratorium.

In July, Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the refugee situation.

“Tonight, I can announce proudly that we will meet President Obama’s goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States in the current fiscal year,” Kerry said on July 12, reports CNS News. “More needs to be done to help those who are besieged inside Syria. More has to be done to assist refugees.” 

Sources: CBS News (2), CNN, CNS News / Photo Credit: Salwan Georges/The New York Times