From this evenings State of the Union address:
We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. (Applause.)
From a January 2nd NY Times article:
Thousands flee Iraq every day, but the US has placed strict limits on the number of Iraqi refugees allowed to settle in America.
…
Until recently the Bush administration had planned to resettle just 500 Iraqis this year, a mere fraction of the tens of thousands of Iraqis who are now believed to be fleeing their country each month. State Department officials say they are open to admitting larger numbers, but are limited by a cumbersome and poorly financed United Nations referral system.
…
“I don’t know of anyone inside the administration who sees this as a priority area,” said Lavinia Limón, president of the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nongovernmental refugee resettlement agency based in Washington. “If you think you’re winning [the war in Iraq], you think they’re [refugees] going to go back soon.”
badliberal 