By Julia Edwards
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - The United States has taken in 8,000 Syrian refugees since
October and is on track to meet President Barack Obama's goal of
resettling 10,000 by the end of the fiscal year, a U.S. State Department
official told reporters on Friday.
Assistant
Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration Anne Richard said additional U.S. personnel had been deployed
to vet refugees overseas and that many other refugees had already been
vetted and were awaiting resettlement.
The
total number of Syrian refugees in the United States may even exceed
the 10,000 goal by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Richard and
other administration officials said on a call with reporters.
Obama
set a goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrian refugees from Syria's civil war
to the United States, drawing criticism from Republicans in the U.S.
Congress worried about admitting Syrians who pose a security threat.
Human
rights advocates raised concerns over whether the administration would
be able to meet its goal when less than 5,000 Syrians had been admitted
halfway through the fiscal year.
"Monthly
totals have climbed from low numbers of refugees submitted in the first
half of the year to higher numbers recently. In May, June and July the
impact of our investments in and enhancements to the process began to be
realized," Richard said.
(Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)
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