International Rescue Committee wants Obama ceiling raised on FY15 refugees to accommodate Syrians

Recently we told you that another US refugee resettlement contractor***, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, was petitioning to pressure the Obama Administration to raise this year’s refugee ceiling from 70,000 to 100,000, but now we see that the IRC is pushing for a change as well.

Where did we get that information?  From a new report just released by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in conjunction with the Norwegian Refugee Council.

We saw the news here at Islamic Invitation Turkey in an article entitled: ‘US, EU criticized for accepting small numbers of Syria refugees.’

Two international refugee organizations have criticized the US and European states for admitting only a tiny number of the people displaced by the war in Syria.

In a report released on Wednesday, the International Rescue Committee and the Norwegian Refugee Council said the plight of the displaced Syrian people has reached “a new level of hopelessness.”

The report said that the US and European countries need “to do more, and quickly” in accepting Syrian refugees.

It said the US had accepted just 166 Syrian refugees by the end of September, while Britain a few hundred. France has said it will accept just 500 displaced Syrian people.

This is while international refugee organizations have called on developed countries to accept at least five percent of Syria’s refugees.  [That amounts to about 150,000 Syrians they would like to see brought to the West.—ed]

So here is what the report says about the US beginning on page 16.  After stating that the US has 4,000 Syrians in the pipeline:

“….it is critical that the overall global refugee admissions ceiling in the US be raised beyond the current level of 70,000 persons.”

Interesting as well, is that the IRC lists other ways to legally bring in more Syrians:

~ Student visas

~ Family reunification

~ Private sponsorship

~ Work visas

See all of our posts (going back to 2007) on the IRC by clicking here.

It is so very important for you to express your concern to your Representatives and Senators in Washington about throwing open our doors to Syrian Muslims.

Update November 14th:  More here on Miliband stumping for more resettlement at The Guardian.

***Nine major US refugee contractors are being paid by the head to resettle refugees: