Burbank Congressman Adam Schiff Calls For US To Expedite Immigration For 20,000 Syrians
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) is advocating for the United States to speed up immigration for 20,000 Syrians.
Schiff, in an interview with KNX 1070 on Friday, said he is urging colleagues in Congress to extend so-called humanitarian parole to Syrians who wish to be reunited with family members in the U.S.
Many have already applied to immigrate and have been approved, but are facing long delays due to a cap on visas, he said.
All those who enter the U.S. would need to pass background checks, he said. The Syrians allowed into the U.S. under family-based immigration would be considered separately from those allowed into the country under the refugee program.
Many of the immigrants could end up in Los Angeles, Schiff said, due to the area's already-large Syrian and Armenian communities.
"I think a lot of them could come to Los Angeles," he said. "They have family in the United States who could help support them."
This isn't Schiff's first call to expand opportunities for Syrians to enter the U.S. In 2013, Schiff, who is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, fought to extend humanitarian parole to 6,000 Syrians with approved immigration petitions.
