President Obama wants to take in more than 10,000 Syrians

(Baonghean.vn) - US government officials said on August 5 that President Barack Obama wants to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2016, and the actual number could be up to 12,000.

Syrian refugees trying to reach the US. Photo: AP

“We have taken in 8,000 Syrian refugees to date, and we are confident that we can take in at least 10,000,” said Anne Richard, Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs. At the current pace, the United States could take in up to 12,000 Syrians by the end of September 2016, the end of the fiscal year.

This is part of a total of 85,000 refugees from many other countries that Mr. Obama agreed to accept this year.

Leon Rodriguez, director of the Immigration and Citizenship Service, said the United States is confident it can identify potential terrorists and other suspects.

According to Mr. Rodrigues, the Immigration and Citizenship Agency has the right to access the government's database to check if there is any suspicious information about asylum applicants. In addition, the agency's staff must check the social media activities of applicants.

This screening method has helped the US prevent hundreds of Syrians from immigrating to the US. Specifically, only 80% were accepted, 7% were rejected and 13% are under consideration.

However, US security experts, including FBI Director James Comey, still warn about the risks from the influx of Syrian refugees, saying that authorities can access databases in the US, but cannot access the Syrian database.

The flow of Syrian refugees to the United States remains controversial, especially as several attacks in Europe have implicated refugees. Furthermore, a man who was admitted to the United States as an Iraqi but was actually Syrian was convicted in the United States earlier this year for supporting terrorists.

Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan also sent a letter to President Obama this week, emphasizing: "We need to stop the flow of Syrian refugees into the United States because this affects national security."

Diep Khanh

(According to Washington Times)