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Obama Admin Rushes To Resettle Refugees During Last Days In Office

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Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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The Obama administration is resettling significantly more refugees in the final weeks of 2016 compared to the same time period last year, state department figures reveal.

From the start of Fiscal Year 2017, Oct. 1 2016 through Dec. 27, a total of 25,671 refugees have been resettled in the United States — little over 290 refugees per day. During that same time period in 2015, 13,791 refugees were resettled, almost 157 per day. The Obama administration resettled nearly 85,000 refugees in FY2016 and the White House is on pace to resettle nearly double that amount.

The Obama administration has resettled 3,566 Syrian refugees since Oct.1, 2892 more than the 674 that were resettled during the same time period in 2015. On top of this, the amount of Somalian refugees resettled in the United States has doubled since Oct. 1 compared to the same time last year. (RELATED: MSNBC Reports Ohio State Suspect A Somali Refugee)

Of the Syrian refugees that have been resettled in FY2017, just 4.26 percent have graduated college, and the State Department doesn’t have complete biographical information on an additional 26.28 percent. And just 1.18 percent of Somalian refugees resettled since Oct. 1 have graduated college, while nearly half of them are lacking information on their highest level of schooling. (RELATED: Former NYPD Commissioner Kelly: Refugees And Immigrants ‘Absolutely’ Need Deeper Vetting)

President-elect Donald Trump vowed during his campaign for the presidency to reduce refugee resettlement and enact “extreme vetting” of individuals entering the country. During a November rally, Trump said, “A Trump administration will not admit any refugees without the support of the local community where they are being placed.”

The Daily Caller has reported on how Syrian refugees have been resettled in poor communities across the country. Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s congressional district in the wealthy city of San Francisco has yet to take in one refugee in FY2017.