Lauren Edmunds
American Foreign Policy
November 19, 2015
Op Ed Week 10
A Violent War or a Partisan War: Should We Let the
Refugees In?
Recently in the news, all 2016 Presidential candidates
have been questioned regarding their position on letting Syrian refugees into
the United States. GOP candidates’ answers ranged from Jeb Bush saying that he
would let refugees in if they “proved” they were Christian[1],
to Ben Carson stating the US “must not accept refugees under any circumstance”.[2]
DNC front runner Hillary Clinton was quoted stating that “the United States should
step up its efforts”,[3]
while vague, it does express her desire to allow refugees into the country.
Their answers create a new partisan divide, overshadowing the thousands and
thousands of people crying out to the US for help.
The Syrian refugee crisis is proving to be the
largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, and like World War II, the US
is slow to react and effectively denying the assistance the refugees need. If
it isn’t GOP Presidential candidates blocking refugees from entering into the
US by spreading false and exaggerated rhetoric on the subject, it is governors,
taking authority they do not have to make unilateral decisions. Either way, the
House is voting on HR. 4038 titled “American Security Against Foreign Enemies
Act of 2015”[4] in a few days. The title
of this bill is quite misleading as it is in regards to allowing Syrian refugees
into the US after the FBI and Homeland Security conduct a thorough background
investigation into each person seeking refugee status. The bill’s title is
misleading as it refers to refugees as a “foreign enemy” when in reality the
refugees are victims of a war seeking assistance from a global world power with
more than enough resources to share.
The
US is notorious for saying one thing and acting in another manner. When a humanitarian
crisis happens, the mass public demands that we use our extreme amounts of
influence and power to correct the situation. We act as if we have a moral
obligation to intervene in a good v. evil situation. When push comes to shove,
and the situation calls for a different kind of action, one that involves
something happening within our homeland, we run scared. We assume the worst. We
dissolve our standing as an international superpower a bit more, each and every
time.
The
fact of the matter is this, refugees are just that – refugees. Syrian people forced to leave their homeland because they
no longer have a homeland. When people say that they need to go back where they
came from, they simply cannot do that. Their homes are torn apart by war and
violence. Homes and businesses burned to the ground. The country is desolate,
giving off an apocalyptic, eerie feel. The Syrian Civil War left the country
and its citizens with nothing, and they are desperately crying out to Americans
to give them a chance at a new life.
“What
about ISIS? The refugees could be ISIS” is the circulating rhetoric around the
country that is blocking the path for the refugees. The truth of the matter is,
ISIS is already here. American citizens born and raised in the USA could be
members of ISIS. ISIS recruits online, all you need is internet access and a
will to join the cause, and just like that ISIS is down the street. Not to
mention the simple fact that these people are fleeing ISIS. They are trying to escape the horror of the group,
not bring it with them.
Screening
for Christians and/or conducting expensive background checks are all
unrealistic measures that serve damaging purposes. It would damage the US’s
international reputation, it would contradict our notion of “American values”,
but worst of all it would crush the refugees chances at a new life. What the US
needs to do is first, reevaluate the position of state governors, which would
demonstrate that this area of foreign policy is not within their jurisdiction.
GOP candidates need to stop spreading their hateful rhetoric about the refugees
and Muslims alike. The American public needs to demand that their government
finally puts their money where their mouth is, and become the humanitarian
country we claim to be – let the refugees in, period.
[1] http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-would-back-refugees-who-prove-theyre-christian
[2] http://time.com/4116014/paris-attacks-ben-carson/
[3] http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/hillary-clinton-syria-refugees-213444
[4] https://homeland.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/111715-HR4038.pdf
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