O’Malley: U.S. should provide sanctuary to 65,000 Syrian refugees

“The images of poor Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach and the family seeking refuge in Hungary by clinging to the railroad tracks should spur all of us to ask what we personally can do to alleviate the suffering of others,” O’Malley wrote in a statement. “With more than 4 million Syrian refugees fleeing war and famine, they now comprise the second-largest refugee population in the world.”

“As Europe is becoming increasingly aware, we are not immune from the injustices and tragedies that unfold outside our borders,” he added.

“Americans are generous and compassionate people. But today our policies are falling short of the those values,” O’Malley wrote. “We must do more to support Syrian refugees — and we must certainly welcome more than the proposed 5,000 to 8,000 refugees next year.”

The former governor of Maryland is referring to a recent State Department statement that the U.S. expected to allow approximately 1,500 Syrian refugees to stay this fiscal year, which ends September 30. During the State Department briefing Thursday, spokesman Mark Toner said he can’t give a response on why the U.S. is not accepting the traditional number of refugees. In the past, the U.S. accepted half the refugees the UNHCR approved for foreign resettlement, which in this case would be 65,000.

“I support the call from humanitarian and refugee organizations for the United States to accept at least 65,000 Syrian refugees next year,” said O’Malley. “If Germany — a country with one-fourth our population — can accept 800,000 refugees this year, certainly we — the nation of immigrants and refugees — can do more.”

On Friday the United Nations urged the European Union to admit up to 200,000 refugees seeking refuge from conflict zones in the Middle East.