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US unlikely to take more Syrian refugees

While the United States has taken only 1,500 Syrian refugees so far, Americans moved by the drowning death of a Syrian toddler and other scenes of misery among migrants are opening their wallets and contributing more to aid agencies.
A Syrian refugee carries two children moments after arriving on a dinghy  on the Greek island of Lesbos, September 8, 2015. Greece asked the European Union for aid to prevent it being overwhelmed by refugees, as a minister said arrivals on Lesbos had swollen to three times as many as the island could handle.  REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis - RTX1RPL9

The senior US official in charge of dealing with refugees says the Barack Obama administration is watching the flood of Middle Eastern migrants into Europe with concern and will do what it can to help, but it is unlikely that the United States will admit larger numbers of Syrians anytime soon.

Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, told Al-Monitor in an interview Sept. 8 that the United States is continuing to process Syrians and other would-be refugees according to a lengthy and stringent process that emphasizes weeding out those who could pose possible security threats to the United States.

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