Scores of congressional Democrats want the Obama administration to speed up the process allowing thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States.
Eighty-four Democrats from both chambers of Congress on Friday asked the Departments of State and Homeland Security to take specific steps to tweak their systems and make it easier for refugees with relatives in the U.S. to be reunited with their families.
{mosads}“[T]he administration can and should institute reforms to boost the number of refugees processed,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
“We stand ready to work with the administration to join our allies around the world in providing assistance to millions of people who have been displaced from their homes and countries during the ongoing civil war in Syria.”
The Obama administration has announced it will allow a total of 85,000 refugees into the U.S. next year, and 100,000 in fiscal 2017. That’s an increase from the current cap of 70,000 refugees admitted into the U.S. this year.
The increase comes amid concerns of a refugee crisis spilling out of Syria, which has overwhelmed borders in Europe and the Middle East. More than 4 million people have fled Syria since the fighting began there in 2011, but only 2,000 have been settled in the U.S.
Many of the Democrats signing on to Friday’s letter have pushed for an even more vigorous effort to allow refugees into the U.S., given the growing chaos in Syria.
Some skeptics, however, have worried about the economic drain that thousands of new refugees will have on the U.S. They also fear that Islamic extremists might slip into the country among refugees’ ranks, even though the Obama administration has insisted that all refugees undergo rigorous background checks.
On Friday, the Democrats asked for three specific steps to speed up the refugees headed to the U.S. The steps can be done administratively and do not need to go through Congress, they said.
First, the lawmakers asked the administration to expand an existing refugee program that provides a special avenue for refugees who already have relatives in the United States. That Priority 3 program is currently available only to people who came to the U.S. as a refugee or seeking asylum, but should be opened to anyone whose relatives entered the country through other means, they wrote.
Secondly, they asked for beefed up coordination so that some family members’ screenings are not allowed to expire as they wait for other members of the family to be cleared into the U.S.
Finally, the Democrats wanted the administration to tell families if some — but not all — members of that family have been cleared to enter the country. That step “allows applicants to decide whether they prefer to remain with their family members or move along to safety in the United States,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter was led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in the Senate and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) in the House.