10,000 Syrian refugees find new home in US

Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh, rear, a Syrian refugee that arrived with his family in the United States this week, poses with the family Wednesday Aug. 31, 2016, in El Cajon, Calif. The family members are his wife Rajaa Abdo Altaleb, back left, son Mohammad Fawzi Jouriyeh, back right, daughter Hanan Nadim Jouriyeh, right, Farouq Nadim Jouriyeh, front center, and Hamzeh Nadim Jouriyeh, front left. San Diego’s newest Syrian refugee arrivals include the Jouriyeh family of six from the city of Homs. The family tells the AP they feel welcome in their new community of El Cajon, where many refugees are resettled where store signs are in Arabic and many speak their language. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) (The Associated Press)

Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh, a Syrian refugee who arrived in the United States with his wife and four children earlier this week, pauses to gather his emotions while talking about the years of waiting for the chance to come to the United States during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, in El Cajon, Calif. The family tells the AP they feel welcome in their new community of El Cajon, where many refugees are resettled where store signs are in Arabic and many speak their language. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) (The Associated Press)

Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh, a Syrian refugee who arrived in the United States with his wife and four children earlier this week, talks about the years of waiting for the chance to come to the United States during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, in El Cajon, Calif. The family tells the AP they feel welcome in their new community of El Cajon, where many refugees are resettled where store signs are in Arabic and many speak their language.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) (The Associated Press)

San Diego, the nation's eighth-largest city, has received 626 Syrian refugees since October, more than any other in the United States. Many smaller cities have accepted outsized number of Syrians, including Erie, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; and Boise, Idaho.

San Diego's newest arrivals include the Jouriyeh family of six from the city of Homs. On Sunday, they participated in a ceremony in Amman, Jordan, to mark the United States hitting its target of taking in 10,000 Syrian refugees under its year-old resettlement program. On Wednesday, they were buying groceries.

David Murphy of the International Rescue Committee — one of nine organizations that helps settle refugees — says refugees are typically assigned to cities where they have family or friends.