State Department spokesperson John Kirby on Thursday rejected charges that the U.S. has only accepted a “paltry” number of refugees, and that the Obama administration could have taken a “leadership” position in one of the worst refugee crises since World War II.
“I absolutely take issue with this idea that our contributions are paltry,” said Kirby, whose remarks came in the wake of a White House announcement that the U.S. would accept 10,000 Syrian refugees.
In previous administrations, the U.S. would accept half of the number recommended by United Nations Human Rights Commission, which means the U.S. would take in 65,000 Syrian refugees. But under the Obama administration, only 1,500 Syrian refugees have been accepted throughout the course of the entire five-year Syrian civil war, which has caused 4 million Syrians to flee their country.
When challenged why the administration has not reacted sooner to the crisis, Kirby said the administration has been pursuing a range of options.
“Let me challenge the implication that we’ve not been focused on this or we’re not aware of it,” said Kirby. “We’ve talked about this — resettlement is not the only answer, and sometimes it’s not the best answer. We’ve been the strongest donor, for financial contributions, to the refugee problem in the region … that’s where you want to apply your energy, because most of these people want to go back home.”
He also said many Syrians want to be closer to their home, which is why the U.S. has also been working on helping other countries take people in.
“That’s why we’re also focused on trying to urgently get to a political solution — inside Syria,” said Kirby. “That’s why the coalition is taking the fight to [the Islamic State], inside Syria. So the idea that we’ve just not been paying attention to this, I don’t think is fair.”
Associated Press reporter Matt Lee charged that the U.S. could have taken leadership “far earlier” and “taken initiative” on the issue “months ago,” instead of waiting until a refugee crisis arose on Europe’s doorstep.
“Why did it take the White House, the president, so long to come up with this number?” asked Lee.
“Nobody is dragging their feet on this,” asserted Kirby, who added that “the United States record of leadership and example on the issue of refugee resettlement and refugee programs and support for this around the world is pretty well established.”
Another reporter noted that the administration had talked about taking in up to 8,000 refugees, and asked if the U.S. is incapable of reaching that goal.
“No other country admits more refugees from around the world than the United States,” said Kirby. “So you talk about paltry numbers; I absolutely challenge that assertion. No other country is more generous about accepting refugees for resettlement than this one. No other country donates more financially to try to take care of them where they are.”
Kirby said the U.S. has donated $4 billion to take care of the refugees in Turkey and Jordan. The Gulf States have also pledged billions to care for the refugees in Turkey and Jordan while not accepting any into their countries.
Germany, on the other hand, has agreed to resettle 800,000 Syrian refugees while economically-strapped Greece absorbed 142,000 and Italy took in 107,000.
