US can meet goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees: Barack Obama

President Barack Obama says the US can meet his goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by September 30, the end of the federal budget year.

Obama says the goal he set in 2015 has been challenging, partly because of the need to assure the US public that refugees are being thoroughly checked out. He says processes are in place to speed up the resettlements.

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz both called for blocking Muslims from being admitted to the US following terrorist attacks in 2105 in Paris and San Bernardino, California.

Obama says accepting Syrian refugees is "the right thing to do" because they are victims of terrorism, violence and suffering caused by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama commented at a news conference with college reporters.