President Barrack Obama will host a summit in New York next week to discuss the need of the U.S. to augment its refugee programs as it gears to welcome 110,000 more refugees in the next 12 months.
The meeting was scheduled ahead of the U.N. General Assembly gathering to spotlight the need to increase money for aid agencies, resettle more refugees and provide education and job assistance.
The on-going civil war and conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan prompted the U.S. government to raise its goal of taking in 110,000 refugees.
Of these numbers, 40,000 will come from the Middle East and South Asia; 35,000 from Africa; 12,000 from East Asia; 4,000 from Europe; 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean; and 14,000 unallocated slots for refugees from any region.
The target is 30 percent higher than this year's 85,000, according to a ranking official of the Obama administration who requested not to be named as he is not authorize to discuss the matter on official capacity.
According to a Military Times report, the 110,000 goal covers a 12-month period that will start this October.
Amid doubts that war refugees could be utilized as instrument by terror groups to carry out their evil plans, the White House maintained that the program is safe and doesn't pose a major threat to national security.
The concern was heightened last year after terrorist attacks in European cities that connected to some people who had spent time in Syria.
The U.S. government assured that potential refugees would continue to be subject to rigorous screening process that typically lasts more than a year and involves both in-person interviews and examination of biographical and biometric information.
The issue sparked debates especially among Republican governors who refused refugees' entry into their states. The Obama administration however insisted that states cannot legally prevent war exiles from coming in.
The U.S. has encouraged other countries to increase their contribution to alleviating the refugee crisis in Syria. Millions of Syrians have been displaced by a civil war that has killed roughly half a million people.
Increasing the U.S. target this year accordingly reflected Obama's belief that all nations need to do more to help the flight of war refugees from around the world.
