Past programs
As recently as 1980, the US airlifted 200,000 Vietnamese and other Indochinese for resettlement in the US – and maintained that pace annually for the next decade.
Last year, Secretary of State John Kerry said the US would look to increase resettlement of refugees from 85,000 in fiscal year 2016 (ending Sept. 30) to 100,000 next year. But CWS is pressing for a return to 200,000 – and certainly not less than 140,000.
While there was a flare-up of anti-refugee sentiment after the Paris attacks last November, Ms. Smyers of CWS says, “since then people have come to see how secure the program is, and the outpouring of support for refugees that we’re seeing across so many communities is remarkable.”
The number of CWS volunteers has quadrupled in the past year, as have donations to help refugees settle into their new homes. In many communities, the “outpouring of support” has surpassed the needs of the small numbers of Syrian refugees coming in, she says.
Leon Rodriguez, director of US Citizenship and Refugee Services, told reporters at briefing last month in Washington that Syrians faced a tougher vetting process than any group that has entered the US recently.
The overall acceptance rate among Syrians is about 80 percent. Many of those turned away are young men seen to pose a greater risk to US security.
Most of those admitted are families – with large numbers of children. Statistics on the 10,000 Syrian refugees who have come to the US this year show that more than half are under age 18.
Article Appeared @http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2016/0829/The-refugee-milestone-Obama-doesn-t-want-to-talk-about