I’ve written before about how hypocritical it is for the United States not to accept refugees from Syria, but given the recent vote by the U.S. House of Representatives as a result of the attacks in Paris, I think it’s worth repeating.
The House of Representatives recently voted to suspend President Obama’s plan to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees within the next year. The vote was primarily orchestrated by Republicans, but received the support of 47 Democrats. The new plan would require all refugees from Syria to gain verification from high-level officials (such as the director of the FBI, or the director of national intelligence and homeland security secretary) that the refugee in question does not pose a security threat.
This plan is both a travesty and waste of resources. Obama has threatened to veto it, but if he doesn’t or is overruled, it will be impossible for refugees to enter the United States. I have no idea what James Comey (the FBI director) does all day, but I imagine he doesn’t have time to personally screen every single refugee that wants to be admitted into the country. And if he does have time, then he’s clearly not doing his job.
The process of extensive individual screening, besides being a massive timewaster, has already been proven to not be efficient in any way. The New York Times recently published an article about a program meant to help children fleeing violence in South and Central America. The program allows children to apply for refugee status while in their home countries, and is supposed to prevent them from trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
Over 5,400 children have applied in the past year. The State Department has interviewed 90 of them. No children have come into the United States through this program.
Did I mention that all of the children who have applied through this program are trying to reunite with their parents, who are already legally living in the United States?
If we can’t even accept children fleeing violence, and allow them to join their parents in the U.S., how on earth are we going to screen refugees from Syria? Especially after the Paris attacks, the stigma and prejudice towards Syrian refugees has only gotten worse. There’s no way the government will make room for screening them when there aren’t even enough resources available to allow children to legally join their parents.
As it is, governors in 31 states have said that Syrian refugees aren’t welcome.
We live in a country founded by immigrants and refugees. Once upon a time, the United States was seen as a land of hope and freedom, willing to take in anyone facing persecution in their native country. What does it say about us now that we’re denying entry to some of the most desperate, beaten down people in recent history? Why would we rather let millions of good people suffer than allow them to make a new home here?
