Iraqi Refugee Admissions Still Below Pace

While the U.S. admits a relatively large number of refugees each year, its role in creating refugee situations through war and intervention has been major throughout history. The Irag situation is, of course, a recent example. Now, the U.S. is behind in its commitment to Iraqi refugees. Reuters reports:

The United States admitted 444 Iraqi refugees in February, according to preliminary figures released by a U.S. official on Saturday, up from 375 in January but below the pace needed to meet its 12,000 annual target.

James Foley, the U.S. State Department’s senior coordinator for Iraqi refugees, said February’s figures brought the number of Iraqi refugees admitted to the United States to 1,876 since the U.S. government’s 2008 fiscal year began on Oct. 1.

Foley was appointed in September to speed up refugee admissions after the Bush administration was harshly criticized by lawmakers and refugee groups for the slow pace at which the United States had taken in Iraqis. Click here for the rest of the story.

bh