U.S. to accept 110,000 refugees in 2017

The Obama administration will increase the number of refugees it will allow into the United States over the next year to 110,000, an increase of more than 57 percent since 2015.

A State Department official told NBC News the move is "consistent with our belief that all countries should do more to help the world's most vulnerable people." A senior White House official said at least 40,000 of the refugees are from South Asia and the Near East, with many of them likely from Syria, and they will undergo "rigorous screening" before they can enter the U.S.

Some Republicans are slamming the increase, with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) calling on Congress to pass the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act so "the People's duly elected representatives in Congress, not the president, decide what the number should be. It also empowers state and local governments to decide whether or not refugee resettlement is best for their communities." Over the last fiscal year, 85,000 refugees entered the United States, including 10,000 Syrians.

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