US meets 10,000 Syrian refugees relocation target: IOM

August 31, 2016 WORLD No Comments

This photo taken on May 4, 2016 shows Syrian refugees carrying their belongings as they wait to enter the Jordanian side of the Hadalat border crossing. (AFP photos)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the United States has admitted over 10,000 Syrian refugees to the country in 2016, achieving its goal one month ahead of the scheduled time.

"As of 29 August 2016, 10,172 Syrian refugees were admitted in the United States as part of the Obama administration’s promise to increase the number of Syrian refugee admissions by September 30, 2016," the IOM said in a statement on Tuesday.

The migration body further noted that another 85,000 refugees from around the world are expected to be resettled in the United State by the end of this fiscal year in September.

Last year, US President Barack Obama vowed to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria into the States.

Syrian refugee children take part in activities organized by a non-profit organization at the Saadnayel refugee camp in Lebanon on July 16, 2016.

US activists have criticized the Obama administration for acting too slowly to settle the refugees mostly because of an extensive, months-long screening process aimed at preventing anyone with links to terrorist networks, including the Daesh Takfiri group.

The US government has rejected approximately 7 percent of applications under its Syrian refugee program, while another 13 percent is being held up by "outstanding concerns," according to Leon Rodriguez, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

This photo taken on December 10, 2015 shows human rights activists and people from the Muslim community displaying placards during a demonstration in New York in solidarity for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Obama’s plan has also come under attack by his opponents, who have been warning of the implications for national security.

On April 14, US House Speaker Paul Ryan denounced Obama’s refugee program, citing a lack of adequate screening that puts the country at risk of terrorism.

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has also said that “a lot” of Syrians accepted in the US are members of Daesh.

Trump said the number of refugees and immigrants is increasing in the US and if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “gets in, it will be massive and we won’t even have a country anymore.”

Daesh and other terror groups are wreaking havoc in Syria and aim to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an objective also sought by Washington.

The Arab country has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has said that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.