Myanmar refugees, including Muslim Rohingya, outpace Syrian arrivals in U.S.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The resettlement of refugees from Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria, has been the center of a heated political debate after President Barack Obama last year pledged to resettle at least 10,000 refugees from the war-torn country in the United States.

But refugees from Myanmar, whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited Washington last week, have quietly outpaced Syrian arrivals in recent years, even as Syria’s civil war intensifies, with an increasing number coming from the marginalized Rohingya Muslim community, according to State Department figures.