http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=hsnews-000002634217The Bush administration aims to resettle at least 12,000 Iraqi refugees in the United States in fiscal 2008, a Department of Homeland Security official said Thursday.
Lori Scialabba, senior adviser on Iraqi refugee issues at DHS, and Ambassador James Foley, senior coordinator on Iraqi refugee issues at the Department of State, said the figure is a goal, not a cap.
“I believe we are on track to achieving this goal,” Foley said, but the administration will need several months to increase its rate of processing refugees largely because Syria’s denial of visas to DHS personnel for several months has slowed the effort.
Approximately 1.5 million Iraqi refugees are in Syria, the most in any country. Another half million are in Jordan, Foley said.