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Democratic Senators to Obama: Step It Up on Refugees

Slow pace of admitting Syrian refugees raising concerns

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, right, shows the iconic photo of a young dead Syrian boy in the surf near Bodrum, Turkey, at a recent news conference. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call)
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, right, shows the iconic photo of a young dead Syrian boy in the surf near Bodrum, Turkey, at a recent news conference. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call)
By Roll Call Staff
Posted May 18, 2016 at 12:07pm

The slow pace of admitting Syrian refugees into the country has prompted 27 Democratic senators to voice their concerns in a letter to President Barack Obama.

The White House has said it intends to admit 10,000 Syrians for resettlement by Oct. 1, but so far, slightly over 1,700 have been admitted.

“There is no denying there’s work to do,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Friday.

Related: [White House Hedges on Syrian Refugees]

Earnest said that progress so far, numerically, has been “linear.”

But no one expected all 10,000 to be screened and admitted overnight — including the president, he said. And the Obama administration is “not going to cut corners” to meet the goal.


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