Arrival of Syrian Refugees in U.S. Surges in June

Source: Time

By David Johnson

Almost 5,200 have arrived so far

The number of Syrian refugees who have arrived in the U.S. nearly doubled in June as the Obama administration aims to make good on its pledge to resettle at least 10,000 by the end of the fiscal year.

In all, 5,186 Syrian refugees have arrived in the U.S. since Oct. 1, following President Obama’s directive to step up resettlement efforts—and 2,381 of them arrived in June, according to records updated by the Refugee Processing Center, operated by the State Department.

They’ve been resettled across 38 states; Michigan has taken in the largest group of Syrian refugees, 570 so far, followed by California, which has taken in 500. But a dozen states have taken in no Syrian refugees, and more than a dozen have taken in fewer than 50.

In September 2015, the White House announced the U.S. would admit 10,000 refugees during the next fiscal year, ending Sept. 30. With three months left to go, the administration has taken in fewer than 5,200.

To meet its goal, the U.S. must accept 4,814 more over the next three months. This fiscal year’s total already well exceeds the 1,682 Syrian refugees taken in during the previous year, but pales in comparison to the 4.8 million Syrians who have fled the war, now in its sixth year.

Millions remain in the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan; the flow of people leaving Syria also contributed to refugee crisis in Europe, which ended its calendar year having taken in some 1 million migrants and refugees.

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