By JIM SUHR
Associated Press
FULTON, Mo. (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says thousands of eventually U.S.-bound Syrian refugees will be screened "carefully" to ensure that Islamic terrorists haven't infiltrated them.
Johnson addressed the exodus of Syrians and Iraqis toward Europe during his keynote speech Wednesday at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. That's the same site where Winston Churchill made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech roughly seven decades ago.
The U.S. is making plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming budget year, an increase from the 1,500 people who have been cleared to resettle in the U.S. since Syria's civil war broke more than four years ago.
Johnson offered no clarity on how quickly the refugees might be vetted, or if that process might be expedited.