US welcomes its 10,000th Syrian refugee read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/725-us-welcomes-its-10-000th-syrian-refugee

President Barack Obama set the goal last fall as the migrant crisis in Europe and the Middle East reached a critical mass last summer and leaders in the international community were calling on the US and other world powers to do more to help the growing displaced population.

It is not a surprise the 10,000 number has been met.  The administration was expected to mark the milestone of meeting that number within the coming weeks.

The Obama administration is up to its acceptance rate to 140,000 refugees in 2017.

 A State Department official said that the administration can and likely will accept more than 10,000 applicants and admissions are expected to continue at their current pace for the remaining six weeks.

The Obama administration will reach its target Monday of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by October 1, National Security Adviser Susan Rice announced in a statement.

Rice said that the final Syrian refugee to hit this target would be arriving Monday afternoon, more than a month ahead of schedule.

The US is the largest single donor to the Syrian crisis response that the country's humanitarian assistance in Syria and the region has reached nearly $5.6 billion so far, including nearly $795 million for Jordan since 2012.

The US had only admitted about 1,900 refugees in the first four years of the conflict, and was facing a backlog of UN case referrals.

While meeting the target is likely to be touted as a major achievement for the administration, not everyone is happy about the accomplishment.

State Department officials have stood by the rigor of their critical examination. However, insisting refugees are the most thoroughly screened group of travelers to the US.