Hartford — Surrounded by state interfaith and nonprofit leaders looking to increase infrastructure for incoming refugees, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Monday outlined a plan he said will strengthen and speed up the process of bringing refugees into the country.

Blumenthal's announcement at The Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry came just weeks after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the country will take 30,000 more refugees annually — many of them Syrian — by 2017.

This year, the United States is slated to accept 70,000 refugees, most of whom at this point are from countries such as Iraq, Somalia and Myanmar, which is also called Burma.

Since the Syrian Civil War began in early 2011 — when President Bashar al-Assad's government responded violently to nationwide protests against his regime — more than 4 million Syrians have fled the country.

Most of them — often middle-class families seeking a better place for their children than a country where education has shut down in many areas — have landed in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Others, however, have trekked to countries such as Germany, where an open-door policy instated in August has resulted in a much higher-than-expected influx of refugees.

For those who decide to come to the United States, Blumenthal said, the extensive screening process takes 18 to 24 months on average — a timeline he called "intolerable and unnecessary for our security."

His plan to expedite the procedure consists of four steps.

First, it would allow those who have relatives legally in the United States to apply directly to the U.S. government for screening and resettlement rather than having to go through an organization such as the United Nations.

Second, it calls for increased coordination throughout the screening process, where many refugees have to undergo the same screening two or more times because one expired while they were waiting for another to be completed.

Third, the plan suggests that videoconferencing should replace expensive, in-person security screening interviews.

Fourth, it suggests families should have the option to resettle individual approved members even if the whole family hasn't yet been approved.

"The reason for this proposal is simply to reduce time, because these people's lives are in danger," Blumenthal said, adding that he hopes the process will become a matter of months rather than years. "Clearly the magnitude of this effort has to be greatly expanded if we are to accept more refugees and require the kind of screening that Americans deserve for security."

Blumenthal at one point detailed his experience visiting the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, where he said refugees who were engineers and college professors hosted him.

"Their lives had been shattered by the tragedy in Syria today ... their careers completely destroyed," Blumenthal said. "They have gifts and talents they can bring to this country."

"We can do both: provide jobs and economic opportunities for people who were born here and people who come here," he continued. "We're America — that's our DNA. We welcome immigrants because they enrich our country."

Mongi Dhaouadi — senior program officer at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington, D.C., and executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations-Connecticut — estimated that about 200 Syrians live in the New London area.

Dhaouadi, who lives in New London, described a conversation he had last weekend with a Syrian refugee who moved to the area less than a year ago and is working at a local Bob's Discount Furniture store.

"The owner was impressed with how quickly he learned English, how quickly he learned the trade," Dhaouadi said. "They are training him now to become the manager. The vice president of the company actually said, 'We want to bring more refugees from Syria to this area if they are like you.'"

Dhaouadi has been working with groups such as the interfaith Greater New London Clergy Association for several weeks to concoct a plan for what to do if — or when — Syrian refugees come to the area.

"We realize resources are limited, so we said we're not going to just ask our government to do this alone," he said. "We're going to bring everybody together."

Chris George, executive director of New Haven-based Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, emphasized that life for refugees in the United States is "not a walk in the park."

"They take out loans to cover their airfare to come to the United States — loans that they pay back," he said. "They receive housing assistance that lasts between four to six months, maximum. It is a tough, demanding, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, self-help program that refugees enter when they come here."

Connecticut currently receives about 600 refugees from various countries annually, George said.

l.boyle@theday.com

Twitter: @LindsayABoyle