The following statement was issued today by National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
Less than a
year ago, in response to an historic global refugee crisis, involving
millions of Syrians in flight from violence and conflict, President
Obama directed his Administration to
increase the number of Syrian refugees provided safe haven in the
United States. While refugee admissions are only a small part of our
broader humanitarian efforts in Syria and the region, the President
understood the important message this decision would
send, not just to the Syrian people but to the broader international
community. As such, he set a goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees
this fiscal year. Millions have been displaced by the violence in the
region, but this decision still represented a six-fold
increase from the prior year, and was a meaningful step that we hope to
build upon.
Today, I am
pleased to announce that we will meet this goal more than a month ahead
of schedule. Our 10,000th Syrian refugee will arrive this afternoon.
On behalf of the President and
his Administration, I extend the warmest of welcomes to each and every
one of our Syrian arrivals, as well as the many other refugees resettled
this year from all over the world. We will admit at least 85,000
refugees in total this year, including vulnerable
individuals and families from Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
El Salvador, Iraq, Somalia, Ukraine, and many other countries.
This
achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of employees
across the federal government. Their commitment to meeting the
President’s expectation that we both increase
our refugee admissions and strengthen the integrity of the refugee
program, including its stringent security screening protocols, has been
essential to this effort. We are also grateful to our many partners in
international organizations and NGOs that play
key roles in the program. Above all, we thank the many generous
communities throughout our country that have continued to open their
arms to these new neighbors, demonstrating the values that have made our
nation great.
With 65
million people displaced, including more than 21 million refugees, we
are facing a significant global challenge. Therefore, even as we have
achieved this particular objective, we
continue our work to strengthen the international response to
humanitarian crises around the world. In late September, world leaders
will gather at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. There,
President Obama will convene a Leaders' Summit on Refugees,
highlighting the continued leadership of the United States on
humanitarian issues and the significant contributions partner countries
have made this year. The United States has committed to work with the
international community to significantly increase humanitarian
assistance funding, double the global number of refugees afforded
opportunities for resettlement or other humanitarian admissions, and
help empower refugees in countries of asylum. Together, we can build a
more sustainable and responsive humanitarian system
capable of meeting today's unprecedented global humanitarian
challenges.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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