The Obama administration vowed to absorb 10,000 Syrian refugees this year and as of Monday, it reached its goal. Concern over the absorption of these refugees has caused alarm, particularly after it was revealed the administration's so-called 18-month or longer vetting process was slashed to less than three months and that it would be carried out by private institutions, many of which have ties to Islamist groups.
Adding to the concern is that, of the 10,000 refugees now admitted to the U.S., fewer than 0.5 percent are Christian. CNSNews explains:
As of late Sunday, 9,902 had been resettled in the United States, but more than 200 more are expected to arrive from Jordan and surrounding areas over the next day. U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Alice Wells told reporters the 10,000 target announced by President Obama last September will be reached on Monday.
Barring an unlikely last-minute shift, the number of Christians among the 10,000 will be less than half of one percent.
Of the 9,902 before Monday’s arrivals, just 47 (0.47 percent) are Christians, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data.
The vast majority of the Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in the United States are Sunni Muslims – 9,726 of the 9,902, or 98.2 percent. Another 20 are Shi’a Muslims, and a further 85 are identified in the data simply as Muslims.
The 47 Christians comprise seven Catholics, four Protestants, six Orthodox, one Greek Orthodox and 29 refugees self-reported simply as “Christian.”
Apart from the Muslims and Christians, others admitted during FY 2016 are 14 Yazidis, four Jehovah’s Witnesses, five refugees identified as “other religion,” and one as having “no religion.”
From the very beginning, President Obama refused to hold a "religious test" for incoming Syrian refugees, even though it is well documented that Christians are the primary targets for genocide in the region, and despite the fact that Christians fleeing Syria are the ones most in need because they have fewer places than do Muslims in which to seek safe harbor.
In the case of appeals for more non-Muslims to be included among those admitted; the administration has characterized the calls as un-American.
“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians, should be admitted, that’s offensive and contrary to American values,” Obama said last fall.
In fact, most prominent figures raising the issue have not argued for “only Christians” to be admitted, but rather that as a directly targeted minority, a larger number should be admitted than has been the case.
Roughly 10 percent of Syria's population is Christian, yet only one-half of one-percent of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. are Christian. The statistical anomaly signals that something is gravely flawed with America's current asylum-seeking and admissions process and that the current administration does not care.
