File Photo of Syrian refugees.
Washington:
With the Syrian crisis threatening to overwhelm its allies in the Middle East and Europe, the United States was drawing up plans Wednesday to take in more desperate refugees.
As the White House admitted Washington has a "moral responsibility" to address the crisis, Secretary of State John Kerry met lawmakers to make the case for resettling more displaced families.
It is for President Barack Obama's administration to say how many more refugees from around the globe America will try to admit next year, after resettling 70,000 in each of the last three years.
But Congress will have to approve State Department spending on its resettlement program and there may be tough debate ahead.
"We are committed to increasing the number of refugees that we take, and we are looking hard at the number that we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in Syria and Europe," Kerry said.
Speaking after meeting senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill to brief them on the administration's plans, Kerry said the number of extra refugees was being "vetted fully right now" and would be revealed later.
Kerry's spokesman John Kirby said the talks concerned not just Syrians but the global figure for the number of refugees the United States, the world leader in accepting the persecuted for resettlement, might allow.
"It's not just constrained to the Iraqi and Syrian refugees that are flowing through Europe, although that is a major issue of attention for them right now," he told reporters.
Kirby said the United States was "rightly proud of our strong track record" but recognized "that we can do more, and certainly the situation in Europe presents us that challenge."
No 'liars, criminals or terrorists'
Washington has accepted only around 1,500 Syrians since the four-year-old conflict erupted, a tiny proportion of the 15,000 Syrians the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has referred to it for resettlement.
With global public opinion shocked by images of drowning refugees, the United States is under pressure to act quickly and has been attacked by opponents in Congress for failing to show leadership.
White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said the United States has "moral responsibility to play a role in addressing this issue."
But he also turned some of the pressure back onto Congress, urging lawmakers to rapidly confirm the appointment of Obama's choice to run USAID, Gayle Smith, who was nominated in April.
"I believe the president has made it clear he wants the United States, which has always taken a leadership role with respect to humanitarian issues and particularly refugees, to do what we can," Kerry said.
The United States expects to have only received 1,800 Syrians -- around 500 families -- by the end of this month, which is the end of the US fiscal year and the start of a new planning period for refugee resettlement.
Refugees from Syria and the surrounding region must undergo strict security checks to weed out extremists, even after being registered by the UNHCR.
Non-government groups working with refugees complain this has slowed over the past year, with referrals taking 18 to 24 months to process.
"The refugees are interviewed by someone from the Department of Homeland Security," a senior US official told reporters. "And then we check their names against a whole series of US government databases.
"What we're trying to do is weed out people who are liars, criminals or would-be terrorists. This is something that has slowed down the process and is taken very seriously by everyone involved."
Meanwhile, all US officials insist the only long-term solution to the crisis is a negotiated political transition of power in Syria between Bashar al-Assad's regime and one acceptable to opposition forces.
As the White House admitted Washington has a "moral responsibility" to address the crisis, Secretary of State John Kerry met lawmakers to make the case for resettling more displaced families.
It is for President Barack Obama's administration to say how many more refugees from around the globe America will try to admit next year, after resettling 70,000 in each of the last three years.
But Congress will have to approve State Department spending on its resettlement program and there may be tough debate ahead.
"We are committed to increasing the number of refugees that we take, and we are looking hard at the number that we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in Syria and Europe," Kerry said.
Speaking after meeting senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill to brief them on the administration's plans, Kerry said the number of extra refugees was being "vetted fully right now" and would be revealed later.
Kerry's spokesman John Kirby said the talks concerned not just Syrians but the global figure for the number of refugees the United States, the world leader in accepting the persecuted for resettlement, might allow.
"It's not just constrained to the Iraqi and Syrian refugees that are flowing through Europe, although that is a major issue of attention for them right now," he told reporters.
Kirby said the United States was "rightly proud of our strong track record" but recognized "that we can do more, and certainly the situation in Europe presents us that challenge."
No 'liars, criminals or terrorists'
Washington has accepted only around 1,500 Syrians since the four-year-old conflict erupted, a tiny proportion of the 15,000 Syrians the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has referred to it for resettlement.
With global public opinion shocked by images of drowning refugees, the United States is under pressure to act quickly and has been attacked by opponents in Congress for failing to show leadership.
White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said the United States has "moral responsibility to play a role in addressing this issue."
But he also turned some of the pressure back onto Congress, urging lawmakers to rapidly confirm the appointment of Obama's choice to run USAID, Gayle Smith, who was nominated in April.
"I believe the president has made it clear he wants the United States, which has always taken a leadership role with respect to humanitarian issues and particularly refugees, to do what we can," Kerry said.
The United States expects to have only received 1,800 Syrians -- around 500 families -- by the end of this month, which is the end of the US fiscal year and the start of a new planning period for refugee resettlement.
Refugees from Syria and the surrounding region must undergo strict security checks to weed out extremists, even after being registered by the UNHCR.
Non-government groups working with refugees complain this has slowed over the past year, with referrals taking 18 to 24 months to process.
"The refugees are interviewed by someone from the Department of Homeland Security," a senior US official told reporters. "And then we check their names against a whole series of US government databases.
"What we're trying to do is weed out people who are liars, criminals or would-be terrorists. This is something that has slowed down the process and is taken very seriously by everyone involved."
Meanwhile, all US officials insist the only long-term solution to the crisis is a negotiated political transition of power in Syria between Bashar al-Assad's regime and one acceptable to opposition forces.
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