Kerry: US to Increase Refugee Influx to 100,000 in 2017

The Obama administration will increase the number of refugees allowed into the United States annually to 100,000 in 2017, The New York Times reports.

The current limit is 70,000, and that would go up to 85,000 in fiscal 2016, then to 100,000 annually in 2017, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday during meetings in Berlin.

Kerry also said he would be looking into ways to expand the number beyond 100,000 in later years while still maintaining the background check process.

"This step is in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope," Kerry