White House says country to get at least 110,000 refugees in 2017
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration seeks to accept at least 110,000 refugees from around the world in fiscal 2017.
Secretary of State John Kerry briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the new goal, which is an increase from 85,000 in fiscal 2016 and 70,000 in the previous three years. It represents a 57 percent increase in refugee arrivals since 2015, as ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere have spurred an exodus of migrants seeking asylum in Europe, Canada and other regions.
A senior administration official, who asked for anonymity because the policy is not yet officially announced, “is consistent with our belief that all countries should do more to help the world’s most vulnerable people.”
The official added that Mr. Kerry told lawmakers “that if it is possible to do more” in terms of accepting refugees, “we would.”
The increase comes even as the question of refugees has emerged as an issue in this year’s presidential campaign. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump initially called for a halt to Muslims seeking to enter the United States but later modified this goal to say the ban should apply to any applicants coming from a country with a history of terrorism. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has called for the U.S. to accept more refugees from Syria, which has been embroiled in conflict for more than five years.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., criticized the decision, saying policymakers should focus on overhauling the nation’s system for admitting refugees rather than having the White House set goals.
“The president also continues to ignore warnings from his own national security officials and plans to bring in even more Syrian refugees over the next year,” Mr. Goodlatte said in a statement.
But it’s not Syria or any other Middle East country that is sending the most refugees to the U.S. at the moment. It’s Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation sent 18,386 refugees to the U.S. in 2015, more than 26 percent of the total and surpassing Iraq, the previous leader that last year sent 12,676 refugees. Myanmar sent nearly 4,000 more refugees than it had in 2014, according to an analysis from the Migration Policy Institute.
The primary cause for the exodus from Myanmar are long-standing ethnic conflicts in the eastern part of the country where tens of thousands of ethnic Karen and Karenni have fled persecution from the former military regime that ran the country for a half-century.