WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Refugees to be admitted include 35,000 from Africa, 40,000 from the Near East and South Asia and the remainder from Europe, Latin America and East and Central Asia.
"The admission of up to 110,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest," Obama wrote in a memo to the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard said the United States is providing $364 million in additional humanitarian aid for those affected by the war in Syria.
So far in fiscal year 2016, which ends Friday, the United States has admitted 85,000 refugees, including 12,500 from Syria. That total exceeds the government’s goal of 10,000 for the fiscal year.
