White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed Tuesday that the administration is reviewing its policy on the number of refuges the U.S. will accept from Iran and Syria, in the midst of a major crisis in Europe that he said is getting worse.
“The situation is not new, and our effort to try to assist those countries that are bearing the brunt of this situation is not new,” Earnest said. “But it does appear that this situation is worsening. And that’s why the United States is going to continue to consider additional steps that we can take to help those countries that are bearing the brunt of this burden right now.”
Earnest said an expanded U.S. role was under “active consideration” at the State Department, but declined to say much more. His comments came after National Security Council spokesman Peter Boogaard said Monday that a review was taking place.
Earnest’s comments are a shift from last week, when Earnest highlighted the United States’ hefty financial contributions and maintained that the European Union was equipped to handle the sea of humanity flooding its borders without America accepting more migrants.
The State Department-led policy review will determine “exactly what … the country can do to help our allies and partners in Europe deal with this significant and growing humanitarian situation, [which] is an outgrowth of the instability that we’ve seen in the Middle East and in North Africa,” Earnest said on Tuesday.
Earnest acknowledged that the world looks to the United States for leadership during such crises. “[T]he United States, particularly under the leadership of President Obama, is looked upon by the world to take a leading role in responding to a wide variety of challenging situations, and there is no denying that the situation that many of our European partners are confronting right now is a significant one,” he said.
Countries like Germany and Britain have already said they will accept more Syrian asylum seekers, but Earnest said that the United States’ review has just begun.
“Obviously, everyone is well aware of the sense of urgency … and we’re certainly mindful of the importance of timing here,” Earnest said. But he said he had no timeline for when the review will conclude.
Earnest said it is too soon to know whether the administration will seek additional refugee appropriations from Congress but that the White House is mindful of the potential need to consult lawmakers.
“[W]e will carefully consider what role Congress can and should play,” Earnest said. “But again, I think what most Republicans would say is, ‘well, we would want to understand exactly what you’re proposing.’ And so that’s why I’m going to reserve a discussion of that until that process has been completed,” he said.
