Tag Archives: Syria
Welcoming Syrians
“You’re safe at home now.” These are the words of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to a group of Syrian refugees arriving in Canada.
I would like to present a few facts about the Syrian refugee crisis, with a goal of providing a bit of perspective.
Canada has agreed to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February 2016. Canada has a total population of approximately 35 million people.
The United States has committed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees over the course of 2016. The United States has a total population of approximately 319 million people.
Taking a look at these numbers, we see that Canada has committed to accept about 1 Syrian refugee for every 1,400 persons in Canada. Meanwhile, the United States has committed to accept about 1 Syrian refugee for every 31,900 persons in the United States.
As a proportion of total population, Canada has agreed to accept almost 23 times more Syrian refugees than the United States has committed to accept.
Refugees to the United States undergo an intense level of screening before they are permitted to enter the United States. In fact, they undergo a higher level of screening than any other persons who are permitted to enter the United States.
Steven Katz, a U.S. war veteran who served from 2003 to 2009, including two tours of ground combat duty in Iraq, pointed out that in a recent poll, a majority of Americans support U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq to combat ISIS (also known as ISIL), but don’t share the same enthusiasm for accepting Syrian refugees. Mr. Katz summed it up nicely: “We’re willing to bomb, but not provide refuge to those trying to escape from the bombing. What does that say about our national character?”
I am distressed that so many of my fellow citizens appear to be closing their hearts to persons who so desperately need our help. We are a nation of immigrants. We can and should open our hearts and do more.
A plea for sanity and compassion
These are some of the words engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
From American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), written in 1883.
France presented the Statue of Liberty as a gift to the United States in 1886. It has been regarded as a symbol of this country’s welcoming approach towards immigrants and refugees.
In the wake of the horrific acts of terrorism in Paris earlier this month, and the possibility that some of the perpetrators were Syrian or spent time in Syria, some politicians are calling for a reduction or an end to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States.
I believe that such a response would be a mistake.
In our history, we have had periods of hostility towards immigrants and refugees. Many different groups have felt the sting of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, including Chinese, Irish, Mexicans, Africans, African-Americans, Germans, Italians, and many other groups. During the Second World War, our government put law-abiding persons of Japanese ancestry (including about 80,000 American-born U.S. citizens) into internment camps. Although it seems that xenophobia – fear of foreigners – is a part of being human, it is an irrational fear.
By rejecting refugees, we are caving in to the terrorists’ desires. We become afraid of everyone and everything. But we can do better than to revert to our xenophobic instincts.
With the exception of Native Americans, we are all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. We are part of a wonderful diversity of persons from around the world who are proud to live and work in the United States, and to call America “home.”
The United States conducts an extensive and thorough security screening of all potential refugees. In fact, refugees are subject to more intense scrutiny than any other persons who enter the United States. By continuing our proud tradition of welcoming refugees, including Syrian refugees fleeing war and persecution, we build upon our strong foundation as a nation of immigrants, and as a place where persons have an opportunity to live in peace and to contribute to our great diversity.
Temporary Protected Status for Syrians
On March 23, 2012, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced that DHS will designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians currently present in the United States. Napolitano stated that “conditions in Syria have worsened to the point where Syrian nationals already in the United States would face serious threats to their personal safety if they were to return to their home country.”
Within the next several days, DHS will provide further guidance about TPS eligibility requirements and registration procedures.