UNREAL:
Obama Moves to ‘Increase and Accelerate’ Admission of Syrian Refugees, 11/13/15
(CBC) – The Obama administration is
moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be
admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and
Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.
The move comes after President
Barack Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees
in 2016, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.
The U.S. State Department confirmed
the plans to open a refugee settlement processing centre in Erbil, Iraq,
before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee processing in Lebanon in early
2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.
The White House would not say how
many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000, but two senior
administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase the number.
Suitable
for resettlement
“We want to be in a place where we
can push out really ambitious goals,” said one of the officials, who spoke to
Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
The State Department runs nine
screening centres worldwide that serve as meeting points for refugees and U.S.
Department of Homeland Security employees who have to decide who is suitable
for resettlement in the United States. The additional centres will double the
number available to refugees in the Middle East.
Most Syrians are now screened for
potential U.S. resettlement at centres in Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The
new centres are designed to “increase the channels” the United States has for
reaching Syrian refugees, the official said.
Amid a tide of refugees in Europe,
some congressional Democrats and refugee advocates say the United States should
do more for Syrians who often make dangerous journeys to lands where they have
no home or means of employment.
However, some Republicans have
raised concerns that allowing more Syrians into the United States jeopardizes
national security.
Arab, BRIC
nations urged to do more
In another development, Anne
Richard, U.S. assistant secretary of state, told C-SPAN’s Newsmakers program
on Friday that wealthy Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well
as the so-calledBRICs emerging market nations should do more to help
Syrian refugee.
“I would like to see more aid
come from the Gulf states that are in the Middle East area and are relatively
wealthy compared to Jordan and Lebanon,” she said. ”We would also
like to see more from the so-calledBRICs — Brazil, Russia, India, China
and, to a lesser extent South Africa,” she added. “These are the wealthy states
that care about the region that could and should be doing more on the
humanitarian side.”
About 250,000 people have died and
an estimated four million driven abroad as refugees because of the Syrian
conflict, which began in 2011 with protests against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, which has evolved into a full-blown
civil war. The majority of the refugees have flowed into neighbouring nations
such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon but hundreds of thousands have also made
their way to Europe.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-refugees-u-s-centres-1.3308576
http://www.teaparty.org/obama-moves-to-increase-and-accelerate-admission-of-syrian-refugees-129550/?promocode=tpo-2146285&utm_source=newsemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tpo-2146285
Syria refugee crisis: U.S. opens
centres to speed vetting
Screening outposts to be set up in Iraq, Lebanon as U.S.
urges Arab nations to do more The Associated Press Posted: Nov 06, 2015 7:33 PM ET Last
Updated: Nov 07, 2015 7:55 AM ET
The Obama
administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian
refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening
outposts in Iraq and Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.
The move comes
after President Barack Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000
Syrian refugees in 2016, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.
The U.S. State
Department confirmed the plans to open a refugee settlement processing
centre in Erbil, Iraq, before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee
processing in Lebanon in early 2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.
The White House
would not say how many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000,
but two senior administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase
the number.
Suitable
for resettlement
"We want to be
in a place where we can push out really ambitious goals," said one of the
officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
The State
Department runs nine screening centres worldwide that serve as meeting points
for refugees and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees who have to
decide who is suitable for resettlement in the United States.
The additional
centres will double the number available to refugees in the Middle East.
Most Syrians are
now screened for potential U.S. resettlement at centres in Istanbul and
Amman, Jordan. The new centres are designed to "increase the
channels" the United States has for reaching Syrian refugees, the official
said.
Amid a tide of
refugees in Europe, some congressional Democrats and refugee advocates say the
United States should do more for Syrians who often make dangerous journeys to
lands where they have no home or means of employment.
However, some
Republicans have raised concerns that allowing more Syrians into the United
States jeopardizes national security.
Arab,
BRIC nations urged to do more
In another
development, Anne Richard, U.S. assistant secretary of
state, told C-SPAN's Newsmakers program
on Friday that wealthy Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well
as the so-called BRICs emerging market nations should do more to help Syrian
refugee.
"I would like
to see more aid come from the Gulf states that are in the Middle East area and
are relatively wealthy compared to Jordan and Lebanon," she
said. "We would also like to see more from the so-called BRICs
— Brazil, Russia, India, China and, to a lesser extent South Africa," she
added. "These are the wealthy states that care about the region that could
and should be doing more on the humanitarian side."
About 250,000
people have died and an estimated four million driven abroad as refugees
because of the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 with protests against
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which has evolved into a full-blown
civil war. The majority of the refugees have flowed into neighbouring nations
such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon but hundreds of thousands have also made
their way to Europe.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-refugees-u-s-centres-1.3308576
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