Obama has only allowed in 2,500 Syrian refugees this year

In September, President Obama directed his administration to vet and admit 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States over the course of a year. Now, eight months later, just 2,500 have made it to America, a pace which makes it unlikely that Obama's goal will be realized on time.

Combined with the White House's program of accelerated deportations of undocumented Central American immigrants, this slow approach to refugee admissions has brought the administration under criticism for its migrant policy more broadly, especially within the Democratic Party. "The world notices when we talk a good game but then we don’t follow through in our own backyard," said Kevin Appleby of the Center for Migration Studies to The New York Times.

Obama himself has expressed frustration at the delay in refugee processing, and Amy Pope of the Department of Homeland Security suggested to the Times that blame should be placed on the "dynamics within Congress."

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