Critics push U.S. to help Europe by taking more Syrian refugees

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Critics push US to help European countries by taking in more refugees fleeing Syria
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United States said to have only settled 1,500 refugees from Syria since start of civil war there, prompting criticism from organizations
State Department said Saturday that there is no indication that US will greatly boost the number, though 8,000 expected by end of 2016
Meanwhile, Germany has announced it is prepared for 800,000 refugees
Debate comes as some presidential candidates such as Donald Trump have put spotlight on immigration to the US
John Kasich said that issue is 'fundamentally' European while Hillary Clinton said the Syrian civil war must be resolved as well

Published: 18:57 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 03:48 EST, 7 September 2015

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The United States came under more pressure on Sunday to help Europe find sanctuary for a flood of immigrants displaced by war and chaos, but Washington showed no signs of planning a dramatic increase in its intake of refugees.

David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee and a former British foreign secretary, called on the United States to bring out 'the kind of leadership America has shown on these kind of issues' in the past.

'The United States has always been a leader in refugee resettlement but 1,500 people over four years is such a miniscule contribution to tackling the human side of this problem,' Miliband said on ABC's 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos.'

State Department spokesman John Kirby, in an interview with Reuters late on Saturday, offered no indication the United States would be greatly boosting the number of immigrants it would allow into the country.

As worldwide attention has been brought to the plight of Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe, some have criticized the US for not taking as many migrants as other nations. Above, Syrians in Macedonia

He cited the $4billion US contribution to refugee relief and reconfirmed the Obama administration's position about security concerns.

'There is a significant vetting process here for folks from Syria that we have to follow,' he said, adding that the Obama administration had been in contact with European allies and was exploring options.

An International Rescue Committee statement says that the US has committed to taking in up to 8,000 refugees by the end of 2016.

David Miliband's International Rescue Committee said that the US must take in more than the 8,000 promised to be settled by the end of 2016

US authorities want to prevent militants from Islamic State or al Qaeda from slipping into the country as refugees.

But there are risks to sticking to current policy and not playing a more active role in helping Europe.

Another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that, given the graphic images of the refugees' plight, Washington may face an international image problem for admitting only a small number compared with European countries.

Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, said the United States had not put a quota on the number of refugees it would accept.

She said the UNHCR had submitted almost 16,300 refugees for resettlement in the United States and would continue submitting cases for consideration.

Europe has been operating without a consensus on what do with the flood of refugees.

Austria and Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 refugees and migrants this year, have opened their borders in recent days to thousands of mostly Syrian refugees who had been stranded in Hungary.

Pope Francis on Sunday called on every Catholic parish and religious community in Europe to take in at least one refugee family.

Since the Syrian conflict began in early 2011, the United States has taken in 1,500 refugees from there, the vast majority this year.

Kirby said as many as 1,500 more refugees could be admitted by the end of 2015 and maybe more next year.

Since the Syrian conflict began in early 2011, the United States has taken in 1,500 refugees from there, the vast majority this year Above, a rally in Vancouver urging the Canadian government to take in more refugees

The US refugee numbers pale in comparison to countries such as Germany, which has said it is prepared to take in 800,000. Above, a man holds a welcome sign for refugees arriving in Saalfeld, Germany

A new Facebook group, Open Homes, Open Hearts US, was circulating an online petition urging Obama administration officials to 'greatly increase the number of Syrian refugees who are resettled in our country and let them know you would be willing to welcome an individual or a family into your home.'

The group's page had almost 4,800 likes as of Sunday night.

Immigration has become a major issue in the campaign leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has risen to the top of the Republican field with a hardline stance calling for deportation of undocumented migrants and a wall along the US-Mexico border, but said last week he would consider allowing Syrians into the United States.

Another Republican presidential candidate, John Kasich, also appearing on ABC's 'This Week,' said he favored a somewhat enhanced US role with the refugees but that the situation was not primarily a Washington problem.

The debate over whether to accept more refugees comes at the same time that immigration has become an issue among some presidential candidates. Above, migrants in Hungary

Hillary Clinton said that she hopes there is an international response to settling refugees, but that there must be an international response to the crisis that created the migration

'I think we do have a responsibility in terms of taking some more folks in, making sure they assimilate,' he said. 'This is fundamentally an issue Europe has to come to grips with. We can provide some humanitarian aid to them.'

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton addressed the issue speaking to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and said 'I think the larger Middle East, I think Asia, everybody should step up and say we have to help these people'.

However, she also stressed that an international effort is also necessary to stop the conflict that has caused the mass migration away from Syria.

Former Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff said North America waswrong to consider refugees fleeing Syria as fundamentally a European problem

Writing in the New York Times, Michael Ignatieff, a former leader of Canada's Liberal Party and now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the United States, Canada and Middle East nations were wrong to consider the crisis as Europe's problem.

The United States and its allies have a responsibility to the Syrian refugees - estimated at 4 million since civil war began in their homeland - since they are arming Syrian rebels and fighting Islamic State in the country, he said.

'Blaming the Europeans is an alibi and the rest of our excuses - like the refugees don't have the right papers - are sickening,' Ignatieff wrote.

He called on the United States and Canada to take in a minimum of 25,000 Syrians and said pressure on those governments may intensify after publication in the past week of dramatic photographs of the refugees' plight.

Ignatieff also put blamed on the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia, a place where funding for the terrorist group Islamic State is thought to stem.

He said that 'wretched autocrats' in those countries had accepted 'zero' refugees, but that leaders could be shamed into doing so.