10,000th Syrian reaches US this week in resettlement program

AMMAN, Jordan _ In this photo taken Sunday, August 28, 2016, Syrian refugee Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh, 49, speaks to reporters at the Amman, Jordan office of the International Organization for Migration. Jouriyeh is flanked by his sons Farouq, 8, and Hamzeh, 12. The six-member Jouriyeh family will head to San Diego, California, as part of a year-long program to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States.(AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

By Associated Press August 28, 2016 2 min read

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – The U.S. will reach its target this week of taking in 10,000 Syrian war refugees in a year-old resettlement program, the U.S. ambassador to Jordan said Sunday, after meeting families headed to California and Virginia.

The resettlement program has emerged as an issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, with Republican nominee Donald Trump alleging displaced Syrians pose a potential security threat.

Alice Wells, the U.S. ambassador to Jordan, said Sunday that keeping Americans safe and taking in some of the world’s most vulnerable people are not mutually exclusive.

“Refugees are the most thoroughly screened category of travelers to the United States, and Syrian refugees are subject to even greater scrutiny,” she said.

Wells said the target of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. in the 2016 fiscal year will be reached Monday, as several hundred Syrians depart from Jordan over 24 hours.