A group of 300 sub-Saharan Africans sit on board the Italian Finance Police vessel Di Bartolo as their boat (center) is left to drift off the coast of Sicily on May 14, 2015. Around 1,100 migrants were rescued off the coast of Sicily, about 130 miles from Lampedusa, according to the police. (Photo: Reuters)
The Obama administration says it is "actively considering" ways to be more responsive to the global migrant crisis, including refugee resettlement.
Peter Boogaard, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the United States is in contact with countries in the Middle East and Europe grappling with the influx of more than 340,000 people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Many are fleeing the civil war in Syria and areas in Iraq under the control of Islamic State militants.
He did not elaborate on specific measures, but said they included "refugee resettlement." He noted that the U.S. has provided over $4 billion in humanitarian assistance since the Syrian crisis began, and over $1 billion in assistance this year.
On Monday, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton called in an Associated Press interview for a "concerted global effort" to assist the refugees.
Short link: