By Associated Press
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the Obama administration will meet its goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016. At midyear, according to Johnson, approximately 5,000 refugees had been approved for settlement, and an additional 5,000 to 6,000 had been conditionally approved, pending security checks.
The goal to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees is part of the administration’s larger plan of resettling 85,000 total refugees from around the world during fiscal year 2016 and 100,000 more in fiscal year 2017. (In the U.S., fiscal year 2017 begins October 1, 2016, and runs through September 30, 2017.)
U.S. officials work in partnership with nine local resettlement agencies and with ordinary citizens to help refugees to resettle in communities across the country.