Kerry: US to accept 85,000 refugees in 2016, 100,000 in 2017

[webfact]

Kerry: US to accept 85,000 refugees in 2016, 100,000 in 2017
By KEN DILANIAN

BERLIN (AP) — Scrambling to address a growing Syrian refugee crisis, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Sunday that the United States would significantly increase the number of worldwide migrants it takes in over the next two years, though not by nearly the amount many activists and former officials have urged.

The U.S. will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, up from 70,000, and that total would rise to 100,000 in 2017, Kerry said at news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier after they discussed the mass migration of Syrians fleeing their civil war.

Many, though not all, of the additional refugees would be Syrian, American officials have said. Others would come from strife-torn areas of Africa. The White House had previously announced it intended to take in 10,000 additional Syrian refugees over the next year.

Asked why the U.S. couldn't take more, Kerry cited post-Sept. 11 screening requirements and a lack of money made available by Congress.

"We're doing what we know we can manage immediately," he said, adding that the U.S. cannot take shortcuts on security checks.

U.S. lawmakers immediately expressed concerns about the potential influx.

The Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations "have made it abundantly clear that they will use the refugee crisis to try to enter the United States. Now the Obama administration wants to bring in an additional 10,000 Syrians without a concrete and foolproof plan to ensure that terrorists won't be able to enter the country," said U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

"The administration has essentially given the American people a 'trust me.' That isn't good enough," according to a statement from the lawmakers, who head the congressional judiciary committees.

Conditions in Syria have been growing increasingly dire as the civil war grinds on. As many as 9 million people have been displaced, including more than 4 million who have fled the country, according to the United Nations.

A letter made public last week and signed by several former Obama administration officials urged the U.S. government to accept 100,000 Syrian migrants, and to put in place special rules to speed the resettlement process. Germany says it will accept as many as a million Syrians this year.

"Current (American) efforts are not adequate," according to the letter, signed by Michelle Flournoy, a former senior U.S. defense official who once was Obama's choice for Pentagon chief, and Harold Koh, the former State Department legal adviser. "Humanitarian aid has fallen short in the face of unspeakable suffering."

Syrian migrants to the U.S. would be referred by the U.N. refugee agency, screened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and resettled around the country.

"This step is in keeping with America's best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope," Kerry said. Earlier, he and Steinmeier met with a group of refugees around a conference table on the wooded, lakeside resort-style campus of the foreign ministry's education center outside Berlin.

The Syrians, who Kerry asked reporters not to name for security concerns, said the uptick in migration five years into the civil war was being driven by a collapse of hope that the situation ever will improve.

"I personally came here in search of a future," said a mother of three daughters who made it to Germany with her five-year-old but left two others behind in Syria with her parents. She hopes they all can come, too.

Congressional approval is not required for the Obama administration to expand resettlement slots, though Congress would have to appropriate money to pay for the additional effort, Kerry pointed out. Intelligence officials and Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns that Islamic State militants could seek to slip into Europe or the U.S. posing as migrants.

In 2011, two Kentucky residents who had been resettled as Iraqi refugees were accused of being al-Qaida members. They were convicted of terrorism charges after their fingerprints were linked to roadside bombs in Iraq. That led to new steps to screen refugees, a process that has been criticized as slow and bureaucratic.

"Some of the 65,000 that came from Iraq actually were trying to buy stinger missiles in my hometown in Kentucky," said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican presidential candidate, in a broadcast interview. "So we do have to be weary of some of the threat that comes from mass migration."

Even if the U.S. took in 30,000 Syrians over the next two years — an unlikely outcome, given that only 1,500 have been admitted since the start of the war — that number would pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands that Germany is expected to accept, or the 800,000 Vietnamese that the U.S. resettled in the years after the Vietnam war.

In Washington, Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a television interview that the U.S. "has to do more and I would like to see us move from what is a good start with 10,000 to 65,000 and begin immediately to put into place the mechanisms for vetting the people we would take in, looking to really emphasis some of those who are most vulnerable."

Logistical and resource hurdles remain. For example, there is no suitable facility in Lebanon where Syrian refugees can be taken for interviews, so no interviews are occurring, according to the State Department.

Kerry said the migrant crisis must ultimately be solved by ending Syria's civil war and replacing President Bashar Assad.

On that score, Kerry made clear Saturday the U.S. was willing to negotiate the terms of Assad's exit with Russia, which is backing his government with a recent military buildup. The Russians brought in fighter jets and surface to air missiles that could threaten American plans, much to the dismay of American officials.

Critics have accused the Obama administration of passivity in the face of Russian aggression.

After holding out hope Saturday that Russia could help the U.S. fight the Islamic State, Kerry took a somewhat tougher line on Sunday, saying that he and the German foreign minister agreed that "support for the (Syrian) regime by Russia, or by any other country, risks exacerbating the conflict ... and only hinders future cooperation toward a successful transition."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-21

[RIJoe]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

[Loptr]

Nice of this administration to encumber the next administration with the knowledge they will have to accept 100,000 refugees per year from the ME... Something tells me that if a certain candidate with a bad hairdo gets elected, this executive action will get shit canned, post haste...

[steven100]

help your own homeless first .......

this won't happen anyway .......

[NeverSure]

This guys are just begging Americans to elect Trump.

[Pimay1]

With friends like Kerry, who needs enemies?

[Scott]

Nice of this administration to encumber the next administration with the knowledge they will have to accept 100,000 refugees per year from the ME... Something tells me that if a certain candidate with a bad hairdo gets elected, this executive action will get shit canned, post haste...

In the past, the number of immigrants allowed into the US was set by Congress and from that total number, the President allocates the number of refugees that the US will admit. No one is encumbering anyone.

The security screening process is quite rigorous. Any information which is discovered later will result in revocation of immigrant status and deportation. It is not just alleged ex-Nazis that get the boot.

[NeverSure]

Obama likes to use executive orders to circumvent Congress...

"In a speech last night, President Barack Obama announced a series of executive orders that will protect up to 5 million undocumented persons from deportation. "There are actions I have the legal authority to take as president – the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me -– that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just," Obama said. Under the president's plan, certain undocumented persons – ..."

US News and World Report

[hard124get]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

And the best way is to stop creating any more veterans. They are creating the refugee problem.

[Credo]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

And the best way is to stop creating any more veterans. They are creating the refugee problem.

Your usual bias is showing, but the problems in the ME go a lot further back than this current situation and the involvement of colonial powers played no small part in that situation.

[jalansanitwong]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

And the best way is to stop creating any more veterans. They are creating the refugee problem.

Your usual bias is showing, but the problems in the ME go a lot further back than this current situation and the involvement of colonial powers played no small part in that situation.

How far back do you want to go? Early Middle Ages and the crusades? The 'colonial powers' have thrown billions at these countries in the ME and Africa only to see corruption take hold.

The middle east is run by tyrants and murderers. The Syrian government is copping no flak from the western media over this refugee crisis.

The media is cherry picking pics of crying parents holding children in their arms.They wont show you pics of thugs and possible ISIS terrorists who have infiltrated the camps.

if America wants to become a grossly over populated toilet then thats its problem.

The best countries in the world have populations of between 4 million and 40 million tops,. America will end up looking like India.

[Seastallion]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

Well, there's the irony for you.

If there were no veterans (because the US had not interfered in SE Asia and the ME), there would be no refugees.

I know that's not an answer to the problem, and I agree that veterans should be looked after before foreigners......but when those foreigners are refugees of the US's making...it's a rock and a hard place and compromises have to be made.

[Seastallion]

Obama likes to use executive orders to circumvent Congress...

"In a speech last night, President Barack Obama announced a series of executive orders that will protect up to 5 million undocumented persons from deportation. "There are actions I have the legal authority to take as president – the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me -– that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just," Obama said. Under the president's plan, certain undocumented persons – ..."

US News and World Report

You're introducing the Hispanic immigrant issue, which is beside the point. The OP is about refugees, not immigrants.

Besides, from your same link, is this reply: I have highlighted the last quoted line for you.

President Barack Obama is simply doing his job by taking administrative action on immigration. Congressional Republicans have refused to do theirs for the last 10 years, blocking immigration reforms in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013 and now 2014. That failure has left the country with an increasingly harsh and dysfunctional immigration system that destabilizes families and communities and undermines the nation’s economic and security interests.

Ultimately, only Congress can fix this broken system. But instead of standing by and watching the system further deteriorate, the president is taking a number of common sense steps that are completely within his legal authority to make the system more rational, more efficient and more humane. The centerpiece of the announced reforms are a directive to temporarily defer removals of the parents of United States citizens and legal permanent residents who have been here for more than five years. There are other important changes as well, but the backlash against the president’s action has focused on this policy. Not only is the policy completely legal and grounded in ample historical precedent – similar policies have been adopted 39 times by 11 presidents over 60 years – it is also smart enforcement policy.

[IAMHERE]

I bet none of these immigrants will be living in John Kerry's neighborhood, none in Obama's either. It is the Joe Sixpack's that are gonna have to deal with these worthless people. I mean worthless, they have nothing and are expecting free everything when they move into your block.

[Seastallion]

I bet none of these immigrants will be living in John Kerry's neighborhood, none in Obama's either. It is the Joe Sixpack's that are gonna have to deal with these worthless people. I mean worthless, they have nothing and are expecting free everything when they move into your block.

Refugees, not immigrants. There is a significant difference.

Of course they won't be living in affluent neighbourhoods....they're refugees! There would be an outcry, with me amongst the voices, if there was. They are charity cases, and the money has to be spread as far as possible.

Lets just paint everybody with the same brush, shall we? As mentioned above, "OOOH, an American! He must have a gun and a drug habit, and be a bit crazy anyway, and will do a mass shooting....RUN for your lives!!!"

[JakeSully]

How many bad refugees have we gotten besides the Tsarnaevs?

Now lets see terrorist attacks committed by Americans? There was the South Carolina shooting, Wisconsin Sikh Temple shooting, Oklahoma City Bombing.

Yep refugees are really more dangerous than normal everyday Americans with guns.. NOT!

[Scott]

I will be very surprised if they get anywhere near that number admitted to the US. The process of screening and getting them ready for resettlement is a rather long process. There are the rather close security checks, then there is the gathering of a lot of family data and background information, then there is the process of actually determining if they are a refugee or a migrant. Next there is the medical checks and clearances.

Eventually, the families are presented to local NGO groups who will arrange for housing and jobs as well as education for the children. Since there is a limit to how many families any particular area can handle, they will be dispersed throughout the country. I don't know what the rules are now, but some years back the were given the local amount of a welfare payment during the resettlement period, but this was terminated after 3 months.

[rightlineman]

I bet none of these immigrants will be living in John Kerry's neighborhood, none in Obama's either. It is the Joe Sixpack's that are gonna have to deal with these worthless people. I mean worthless, they have nothing and are expecting free everything when they move into your block.

Why should they? They need to set up temporary tent cities on the Bush's Estates. Where we are now is a product of his administrations crusades.

And now congress can squeeze out a few million out of our 600 Billion defense budget for this or our vets??

Buy the way, your not the guy that was at Trump's, town hall meeting?? And America's not Racist??

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Strange rethoric from the US citizen on TV when we know they all come from immigrant families more or less.

Stop interfere in middle east, so less veterans, and less immigrant fleeing the wars the US and Europe fuel...

We have bombed them for more than 30 years, we (our governments) created ISIS, Al Qaeda, not mentioning Bin Laden who was trained by CIA at the time.

Edited September 21, 2015 by GeorgesAbitbol

[maidee]

make some laws that refugies have to stay within their continent & RELIGION

invade SA if needed

enough money & wealth to pay for all muslim around the world

[LNKDES1]

I will be very surprised if they get anywhere near that number admitted to the US. The process of screening and getting them ready for resettlement is a rather long process. There are the rather close security checks, then there is the gathering of a lot of family data and background information, then there is the process of actually determining if they are a refugee or a migrant. Next there is the medical checks and clearances.

Eventually, the families are presented to local NGO groups who will arrange for housing and jobs as well as education for the children. Since there is a limit to how many families any particular area can handle, they will be dispersed throughout the country. I don't know what the rules are now, but some years back the were given the local amount of a welfare payment during the resettlement period, but this was terminated after 3 months.

And yet a good friend's wife, a happily married working Thai lady that owns property up in Phayao, was not issued a tourist visa to visit the US for a one month vacation. Boggles the mind. Upon her refusal of the visa they noticed that out of the 100 applicants, a vast majority of those given visas were Muslims. Sometimes you just gotta say "<deleted>?".

[Sam Jones]

Trump will deal with these numbers in 2016/2017 - none of this scum will enter US ... I wish Trump was European so we didnt have to deal with this sickness that some want to call refugees ... They are Economic Migrants - asylum-shoppers ...

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Trump will deal with these numbers in 2016/2017 - none of this scum will enter US ... I wish Trump was European so we didnt have to deal with this sickness that some want to call refugees ... They are Economic Migrants - asylum-shoppers ...

Say the guy who emigrate in Thailand probably to sustain a life he cannot afford in Europe

[Scott]

I will be very surprised if they get anywhere near that number admitted to the US. The process of screening and getting them ready for resettlement is a rather long process. There are the rather close security checks, then there is the gathering of a lot of family data and background information, then there is the process of actually determining if they are a refugee or a migrant. Next there is the medical checks and clearances.

Eventually, the families are presented to local NGO groups who will arrange for housing and jobs as well as education for the children. Since there is a limit to how many families any particular area can handle, they will be dispersed throughout the country. I don't know what the rules are now, but some years back the were given the local amount of a welfare payment during the resettlement period, but this was terminated after 3 months.

And yet a good friend's wife, a happily married working Thai lady that owns property up in Phayao, was not issued a tourist visa to visit the US for a one month vacation. Boggles the mind. Upon her refusal of the visa they noticed that out of the 100 applicants, a vast majority of those given visas were Muslims. Sometimes you just gotta say "<deleted>?".

And that has very little to do with the topic. First, if there is a petition for resettlement, you will not be given a tourist visa. You cannot have two applications for visas at the same time. Second, I doubt very, very much that they had access to seeing the religion or anything to do with any other visa applicant, so the statement that the 'vast majority....were Muslim' is very suspect.

The point that can be garnered from your post, is that the process is not an easy one and that is the basis on which I stated that I doubt very much that 85,000 will be resettled.

[hard124get]

And veterans still get no help. Wish they'd fix the internal problems before trying to help the world.

And the best way is to stop creating any more veterans. They are creating the refugee problem.

Your usual bias is showing, but the problems in the ME go a lot further back than this current situation and the involvement of colonial powers played no small part in that situation.

Agreed, so the solution should be to mind our own business.

[MadBum]

Strange rethoric from the US citizen on TV when we know they all come from immigrant families more or less.

Stop interfere in middle east, so less veterans, and less immigrant fleeing the wars the US and Europe fuel...

We have bombed them for more than 30 years, we (our governments) created ISIS, Al Qaeda, not mentioning Bin Laden who was trained by CIA at the time.

Utterly false.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-10-myths-cia-arsenal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_CIA_assistance_to_Osama_bin_Laden

http://www.911myths.com/html/bin_ladin_links_to_the_cia.html

Why don't SA, UAE, Kuwait, etc... take these "refugees"?

Because they are not refugees. They are seeking to infiltrate Europe and America.

Genocide via Immigration.

Edited September 21, 2015 by MadBum

[Steely Dan]

This fits squarely into the category of manufactured crisis. Over the last three months EU figures show 80% of the recent flood of migrants are not from Syria. Most are economic migrants, some with fake Syrian passports and some being terrorists posing as refugees. But as long as there is a net increase in Democrat voters this is of little concern it would seem.

[MadBum]

And 70%+ are men, at least in Europe and most are heading to countries with the most generous welfare benefits such as Sweden and they are also seeking female companionship.

Europe is being invaded by these so-called "refugees" as is America.

This is utter insanity.

The most common name for newborns in the UK is "Mohammad" or variations of.

By the time it occurs to them what is happening, it will be too late.

No wonder the US media has virtually blacked out the immigration crisis in Europe.

If Americans realized what is about to happen to them, they would be protesting.

Meanwhile, 22 Veterans commit suicide every day in the US

Another fact the media avoids, at least while their anointed one is sitting in the Oval Office.

[Berkshire]

This guys are just begging Americans to elect Trump.

Makes you wonder what Reagan would have done....http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/15/politics/reagan-amnesty-2016/index.html

[GeorgesAbitbol]

This fits squarely into the category of manufactured crisis. Over the last three months EU figures show 80% of the recent flood of migrants are not from Syria. Most are economic migrants, some with fake Syrian passports and some being terrorists posing as refugees. But as long as there is a net increase in Democrat voters this is of little concern it would seem.

non americans and non europe citizens cannot vote!

They are not granted citizenship