Obama administration to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees

Refugees are all expected to pass rigorous security screenings and background checks

The White House announced President Barack Obama has begun preparations to allow at least 10,000 Syrian refugees entrance to the United States over the course of the next year.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (Catholic Online) - The Syrian war has been raging since 2011 and today the United States has made its first clear statement toward increasing its acceptance of Syrian refugees.

Since 2011, America has accepted 1,500 refugees and expects 300 more to be registered and arrive by October this year.

Currently, the United States admits 70,000 refugees from around the world each year and will increase to 75,000 annually beginning in October.

White House Spokesman Josh Earnest has yet to reveal whether the 10,000 Syrian refugees President Obama mentioned will be included or added to the 75,000 refugees America will accept this year.

Earnest told reporters, "I do feel confident in telling you that the president will not sign off on a process that cuts corners when it comes to the basic safety and security of the American people and the U.S. homeland."

His statement is in response to national security concerns that ISIS agents could infiltrate America by posing as refugees.

Earnest ensured the use of additional background checks and processing, all of which will require a "significant financial commitment" from Congress.

Congress can block funding for staffing agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services that screen and resettle refugees, but they are unable to do anything about Obama's administration setting limits on the number of refugees it admits from each region.

Senior Republican Senators Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham claimed they are willing to allow more refugees if they are subject to extra security screening measures.

Refugee advocates claim 10,000 refugees isn't enough, especially with Germany expecting 800,000 refugees this year alone.

Reuters reported a letter distributed to House Democrats by Democratic Representative David Cicilline, who asked Obama to accept 65,000 refugees by the end of next year.

Religious groups ask America to accept 100,000 Syrian refugees and Melanie Nezer, vice president of HIAS -A global refugee advocacy group- voiced 10,000 isn't enough.

"This is totally within the realm of what the current system on autopilot could do. This is not time for autopilot. This is time to really ramp things up," she said.

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