Kerry: U.S. To Increase Total Intake Of Refugees To 100,000 In 2017

Secretary of State John Kerry met with refugees fleeing Syria in Berlin on Sunday.

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Secretary of State John Kerry announced Sunday that the U.S. would increase the number of refugees it is prepared to resettle from around the world to 100,000 in the 2017 fiscal year, an increase of 30,000 from the current target.

Kerry said the limit on refugees visas in the 2016 fiscal year would be lifted to 85,000, which would then rise to 100,000 the next year.

Speaking during a visit to Berlin, Germany, which has seen thousands of refugees and migrants from Syria and elsewhere arrive in recent weeks, Kerry said the decision was "in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope."

"The need is enormous, but we are determined to answer the call," the secretary of state told reporters traveling with him.

As with the current program, migrants would be referred to the U.S. for resettlement by the United Nations' refugee agency and then face extensive security vetting before being granted a refugee visa.

Funding for the expansion of the refugee intake program will be of critical importance. As the Washington Post reports, Congress must agree to fund the resettlement of refugees, with expectations the increase of 30,000 will cost an extra $200 million.

Kerry said the U.S. would also look at ways of increasing the target intake beyond 100,000 in future years.

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While in Berlin, Kerry met with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country has struggled to accommodate tens of thousands of refugees and migrants who arrived in its borders in recent weeks. Many of the refugees have fled from Syria's civil war and journeyed through Europe to reach their desired destination of Germany.

The two men also met with Syrians who have found sanctuary in Germany, including a man who had been wounded in a bomb attack in his homeland's civil war.

The U.S. has been under pressure to increase its intake of Syrian refugees. The Obama administration has announced it will resettle 10,000 Syrians during the next fiscal year, but Hillary Clinton and other Democrats want that number lifted to 65,000, citing the extraordinary refugee crisis.

LINK: Refugee Advocates Say Obama’s Plan To Take In 10,000 Syrians Is Not Enough

LINK: Hillary Clinton Calls For The U.S. To Take In 65,000 Syrian Refugees

SOURCE: BuzzFeed