Beginning on October 1st, 2015, the United States will start to bring in Syrian refugees for permanent resettlement. The White House has stated that they will bring in at least ten thousand refugees during this new fiscal year.
Many refugees from Syria are fleeing to Turkey and Hungary, creating complex social and economic problems for both the refugees and the European governments. As of September 2015, nearly two million refugees have been registered in Turkey. This does not account for the unregistered refugees, which cannot be accurately calculated. The estimated number of unregistered refugees in Turkey in December 2014 was six hundred thousand. There were one million registered refugees in Turkey at that time.
While the United States is pledging to bring in ten-thousand Syrian refugees this year, many politicians are unsatisfied with that number. Senator Richard Durbin, Democratic US Senator from Illinois, has said that the US should bring in ten times the pledged number. In response, the White House has said they’ll consider raising the number, while noting that the process has just begun.
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, stated later that in 2016 and 2017, the number of accepted refugees would rise to 85,000 and 100,000, respectively. Many of the refugees accepted in those years will be Syrian, but the support will not be limited to Syrians. The process will be aided with recommendations from the United Nations and screenings from the US Department of Homeland Security.
Public opinion on relocating refugees in America is split evenly. A Pew Research report shows that 51% of Americans agree in general with the idea of accepting more refugees in America, with a majority of young people and Hispanics supporting the efforts. Many are concerned about the security risk associated with relocating Syrian refugees to the United States.