The US has received as many as 28,957 Muslim immigrant refugees, so far this year. This is the biggest influx since 2002, according to analysis carried out by the Pew Research Center. Muslim immigrant refugees make up around 46 percent of the immigrant refugees who have entered the US this year.
The second largest group of refugees is Christians, with 27,556 having arrived so far. This is the first time in 10 years that more Muslims than Christians have been accepted by the US. Over half of the influx of Muslims comes from Somalia and Syria, with 7234 and 8511 respective entrances. Afghanistan, Iraq and Myanmar are among the other most common countries from which immigrants have arrived.
Immigrant refugees wishing to resettle in the US must apply whilst they are still overseas and then go through a thorough interview and vetting process before being allowed admittance. US Citizenship and Immigration figures show that 80 percent of Syrian immigrants seeking asylum have been granted admission to the US over the last five years, with 13 percent put on hold and seven percent denied entrance to the country.
President Barack Obama set a goal of 10,000 Syrian immigrant refugees to be allowed into the US earlier this year. The current pace looks likely to exceed 14,500 by the end of 2016. In April, the President insisted that this was the right thing to do.