U.S. says aware of urgency to act in European migrant crisis
By Jeff Mason and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is taking into account the urgency of the migrant crisis in Europe as it considers further steps the United States can take to alleviate the situation, the White House said on Tuesday. The Obama administration has come under criticism from refugee and immigrant advocates for not doing enough to deal with the crisis caused by refugees fleeing violence in Syria and other countries. The White House has said it is actively considering a range of approaches to be more responsive to the crisis, including on the issue of refugee resettlement. White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to discuss those options at a briefing with reporters but said: "Everyone is well aware of the sense of urgency." Earnest did not provide a timeframe for the review, which is being run by the U.S. State Department, or a potential cost associated with the options under consideration. He said it was possible that the steps would require approval from Congress. Melanie Nezer, vice president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said refugee advocacy groups pushed the Obama Administration to raise its cap on the number of refugees it admits per year from 70,000 to 100,000. The administration has until Oct. 1, the start of the next fiscal year, to set a new limit, but it may be stymied by Congress in getting the needed funding to process and provide resettlement services for new migrants, she said. "I think the administration is interested in helping and wants to do more. It’s not that easy. But certainly if there’s a will, there’s a way,” Nezer said. The Obama administration is concerned that militants from Islamic State or al Qaeda might slip into the country as refugees. The State Department has cited Washington's vetting process as a crucial but complicating factor for Syrians seeking entry. Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Washington has accepted 1,500 Syrian refugees, most of them this year, and the State Department expects 300 more by the end of September. "Nobody's taking their eye off this," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing. "Resettlement is one option but it's only one option." (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Diane Craft)
