Iraqi Refugees Admitted to U.S.: 68 in 7 Months

As many as 2 million refugees have fled the violence in Iraq, overwhelming neighboring countries, and another nearly 2 million Iraqis are internally displaced. Aid agencies have warned that even more refugees are on the way.

But despite the international pressure on the United States to accept some of these refugees, Washington has admitted only 68 for resettlement in the past seven months. Refugees International, an advocacy group, blasted the Bush administration Tuesday for an "inadequate" response, calling the $100 million pledged by the United States a "mere fraction" of what countries like Jordan and Syria are spending to support their swelling refugee populations.

"Hospitals and schools are overcrowded, and prices for food, oil, and rent have increased dramatically since 2004," the group warns. "Economies could collapse and political unrest could arise if Jordan and Syria in particular do not receive help now."

U.S. News wrote about the plight of these Iraqi refugees in December.

The State Department is currently processing some 2,700 referrals that it has received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. These requests for resettlement are "in the pipeline," says a State Department official, who notes that these cases usually take between four and six months to process before refugees can be approved.

In February, the State Department said that it was preparing to process up to 7,000 referrals from UNHCR this year. But the actual figure will most likely be lower. Today, officials estimate that between 2,000 and 3,000 refugees will be admitted to the United States by the end of September.

U.S. officials are also working to create a new channel to process asylum requests from Iraqis who have been threatened by insurgents because of their association with the U.S. government. The aim is to allow these translators, fixers, and administrators to apply directly to offices in countries that neighbor Iraq, but officials still need to win approval from those host governments.

--Kevin Whitelaw