WASHINGTON_The U.S. Monday was to accept its 10,000th refugee from Syria, described by the White House as an achievement reached ahead of schedule and "without cutting any corners."
Whether the country should have admitted even that many, or far more, remains the subject of political debate.
The escalation of the Syrian civil war prompted a global refugee crisis last summer as millions fled to Europe from the Middle East and other trouble spots. Under pressure from the international community to increase the pace of refugee admissions, President Barack Obama set the goal last fall of resettling 10,000 Syrians in the U.S. _ a figure far lower than some international allies had sought but one the administration's critics saw as tantamount to "opening the floodgates" and inviting a potential national security threat.
In marking the milestone, the White House charged that both sides had politicized the issue and that Obama's focus throughout has simply been to do the right thing. In a statement, National Security Adviser Susan Rice thanked government agencies that participated in in the screening processes, and the communities that welcomed "these new neighbors, demonstrating the values that have made our nation great."
The number of refugees accepted by the U.S. was a minuscule fraction of the 20 million refugees fleeing war zones and other harsh conditions around the world. Activists called on the U.S. to do more.
"Thousands of families from Syria have found safety on our shores, and that is a wonderful thing," Tarah Demant, senior director of the U.S. branch of Amnesty International, said in a statement. "But so many are still trapped in horrific conditions in refugee camps or war zones. The U.S. must do more to uphold its responsibility to do all it can to protect those fleeing human rights abuses."
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama hopes the U.S. will "expand our ambition" to admit more refugees. Secretary of State John F. Kerry is discussing the matter with members of Congress, but Earnest conceded that the increase would probably not be more than several thousand.
As of March, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had submitted more than 32,000 Syrians to the U.S. for resettlement consideration. In comparison, more than 378,000 Syrians have sought asylum in Germany in the past five years.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has attacked Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for proposing a more significant increase. She called for admitting 65,000 Syrian refugees in a 2015 interview.
In a speech this month, Trump proposed modifying already-rigorous screening to preclude admitting "any who have hostile attitudes towards our country or its principles _ or who believe that sharia law should supplant American law."
