In recent weeks, there has been a significant political discourse in the United States with regards to allowing the entry of Syrian refugees for asylum. While this has been an issue in the past months after President Barack Obama stated that he was willing to accept ten thousand Syrian refugees in the next year, it has reached a political crisis since the Paris Terror Attacks in November, 2015. One hundred twenty-nine individuals were killed in the attacks. The Paris Terror Attacks created new controversy because it was discovered that one of the terrorists had entered Western Europe as a Syrian refugee (Tharoor, 2015). Unfortunately, many individuals had expressed concern that terrorists might use the humanitarian crisis of the refugees as a method to gain entry to other countries. The Paris Terror Attacks confirmed this for the world. As a result, many individuals believe that Syrian refugees should not be allowed into the United States. I disagree. There are safety mechanisms in place to protect the citizens of the United States. Obviously, no system is fool-proof, as the Paris Attacks showed. Despite these isolated risks, the United States cannot turn her back on the serious humanitarian crisis that has occurred as a result of the Syrian Civil War. The United States has a history of accepting those in need of assistance. She is a country built upon the backs of immigrants and refugees. To refuse assistance to these refugees at their time of need would be a revocation of the very principles upon which this country was built.
The Syrian refugee crisis has been building for some time. It is the result of a civil war in Syria. President Assad has attempted to subdue an uprising in his country, leading to a civil war. Sadly, President Assad has engaged in chemical weapons against his own people. Many individuals mistakenly believe that people who want to fight for ISIS are moving to Syria in large numbers to train as terrorists and fight in the war. This is a fallacy. According to Karl Vick of Time Magazine, while some individuals have moved to Syria, massive amounts merely want to move away from the war. Since the war began, twenty thousand individuals have moved into Syria to train as soldiers. However, four million individuals have fled their homeland to escape the horrors of war. The pictures from Syria are devastating and clearly show why people would want to leave their home. Children are dying and require assistance.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Should Syrian Refugees Be Allowed to Come to the United States?".
The Syrian refugee problem began several months ago and Europe realized that it had a crisis on its hands. Syrians began to travel through Serbia and Croatia in an attempt to make it to Western Europe. European leaders began to discuss what to do with the millions of individuals trying to reach their countries. President Obama said that the United States would take 10,000 individuals within the next year (Collard, 2015). This is the correct thing to do. These people cannot be left to die in camps without food and without water. Currently, Syrian refugees have sewn their lips together in a visual expression of their pain and suffering. They realize that the world is not listening to their cries for help. The United States is the one country that is known for helping others. It is a country of refugees. We were founded by the Pilgrims who were fleeing persecution in their homeland. These refugees are also fleeing persecution. President Obama has shown the common denominator between us and them on Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving, he reminded the states that we are all descended from immigrants and refugees. Sadly, multiple state governors have stated that they would block any Syrian refugees from entering their states. In reality, they would have difficulty doing this for the long term. However, in the short term, they can make it particularly harsh for those seeking asylum (Parkinson & Siegel, 2015).
Obviously, there are risks associated with allowing anyone into the country. However, people can fly in on most airlines with limited background checks. This is reality. Refugees are not just brought into the country with no background check. There is actually significant background checks on any refugee. Most people have no idea about the serious methods by which refugees are relocated when they seek asylum. Resettlement is an international issue and there are laws and programs that govern it. The United Nations oversees the resettlement of all refugees. Refugees do not get to choose what country they are sent to when they ask to be resettled. Rather, the program decides where they will go. If the refugee has family in another country, this will help to make the decision. This is still no guarantee that a person will be sent to that country though. This does not happen quickly. Oftentimes, people spend years and even decades in refugee camps waiting to be resettled. The idea that terrorists will be sent to the United States next week is ridiculous. It is not consistent with the facts on how refugee resettlement works (U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, 2015).
The United States is a country of refugees and immigrants. One has to ask what would have happened to most of our ancestors if they had lingered for years and even decades in refugee camps before finding their way to Ellis Island. Many of us might never have been born. Our great-grandparents and grandparents may not have met each other. If our ancestors had to survive in the current political climate, we would not be here to have this discussion. Fortunately, we are. How can we, as Americans, then deny the same right of entry to America from which our ancestors and we benefited? We would be hypocrites to do so. If we are going to do this, not only should we recall that we would not be here, but we should also remove the large statue that graces Ellis Island: the Statue of Liberty. She greeted our ancestors. Why is she not open to greeting others who are also in need?
- Collard, R. (2015, September 15). Refugees squeeze through crack in Croatia’s border as path to EU blocked. Retrieved from: http://time.com/4041137/croatia-serbia-refugees-border-eu/
- Parkinson, J. & Siegel, B. (2015, November 26). President Obama compares Syrian refugees to Mayflower Pilgrims. Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-compares-syrian-refugees-mayflower-pilgrims-states/story?id=35431907
- Tharoor, I. (2015, November 17). Were Syrian refugees involved in the Paris attacks? What we know and don’t know. Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/17/were-syrian-refugees-involved-in-the-paris-attacks-what-we-know-and-dont-know/
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. (2015). Resettlement. Retrieved from: http://www.refugees.org/our-work/refugee-resettlement/
- Vick, K. (2015, September 22). The Syrian refugee crisis shows far more young people want to flee war than fight it. Retrieved from: http://time.com/4042813/syria-refugee-civil-war-isis/
