In response to the massive humanitarian crisis in Syria and surrounding countries, the United States has announced plans to increase the number of refugees it will take in next year to 85,000. That number will rise to 100,000 in 2017. That’s an increase from 70,000 this year.
The U.S. previously said it would take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, a significant increase over the roughly 1,500 Syrian refugees brought to the U.S. since the crisis escalated in 2012, but not enough to quiet critics who say the United States can and should do more.
U.S. officials have been facing rising criticism in recent months for the response thus far. Secretary of State John Kerry cited post-9/11 screening requirements and a lack of funds as the reason the U.S. will not take in even more refugees.
Since 2012, the U.S. has spent more than $4 billion in aid for the Syrian humanitarian response, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
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Where is the money going?
So far this year, U.S. aid groups including non-governmental organizations have spent $114 million dollars on aid in Syria including food security, logistics, healthcare and administrative costs, among others. An additional $140 million has gone to provide food in Syria. Including aid to surrounding countries, the total amount spent this year alone by dozens of international agencies, governments and relief groups tops $1.2 billion dollars.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates some four million people have fled Syria for neighboring countries. Nearly half of them are in Turkey and another one million people are in Lebanon.
The U.N. puts the total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria at more than 12 million.
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