The 10,000th Syrian Refugee to be Resettled in the U.S.
The United States will reach its goal on Monday of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees as part of its year-old resettlement program, Alice Wells, the U.S. ambassador to Jordan, has announced.
Wells made the announcement Sunday, after meeting with families destined for California and Virginia, reports the Associated Press. The group of several hundred Syrian refugees is set to depart from Jordan over the next 24 hours.
“Soon they will land in the United States to start their new lives,” she said, according to NPR. “And we wish them the best of luck as they settle in their new homes.”
In response to rising fears that Syrian refugees pose a potential security threat, Wells said, “The immediate goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees did not come at the cost of our comprehensive, robust security measures.”
“Refugees are the most thoroughly screened category of travelers to the United States, and Syrian refugees are subject to even greater scrutiny,” she added.
Hungary to Build ‘Massive’ Second Border Fence to Keep Out Refugees
Hungary will build a second “more massive” fence along its southern border with Serbia to stop refugees from crossing through Hungary on their way to western Europe, announced Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He added that 3,000 additional police would be stationed at the border.
Orban said there could be a “greater need for security” at the borders to prevent a new surge in refugees if the European Union–Turkey deal collapses, reported the Independent.
“Technical planning is under way to erect a more massive defence system next to the existing line of defence, which was built quickly [last year],” he said, referring to the 310-mile (500-km) razor-wire fence erected on Hungary’s border with Serbia and Croatia.
“If it doesn’t work with nice words, we’ll have to stop them with force, and we will do so,” Orban said.
Up to 300,000 Migrants Expected to Arrive in Germany in 2016
Germany expects a maximum of 300,000 migrants to arrive in the country this year.
Frank-Juergen Weise, the head of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), said on Sunday “We are preparing for between 250,000 and 300,000 refugees this year,” the Guardian reports.
“We can ensure optimal services for up to 300,000. Should more people arrive, it would put us under pressure, then we would go into so-called crisis mode. But even then we would not have conditions like last year.”
Weise said it “would take a long time and cost a lot” to integrate migrants into German society and the labor market.
Germany took in fewer migrants in 2015 than previously thought, he added, because “some were registered twice and others had moved on to other destinations,” reported Reuters.
“We’ll present the exact number soon but it’s certain that less than 1 million people came to Germany last year,” he said.
Germany’s interior ministry said in January that 1.1 million migrants had entered the country in 2015.
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