Why Should the U.S. Double the Number of Refugees?

The law of the United States defines refugees according to 1952 Refugee Convention, as migrants who can prove they have been oppressed or could be oppressed. Refugees go through oppression on the basis that they belong to a particular social group that the majority decide to rule out as outcasts. Refugees are persecuted based on; nationality, race, religion and their political opinion. Refugees are people who flee their own country to another country to escape persecution. The US has long been a recipient of refugees that leave their native homes in search of freedom from war or oppression. Since the World War II, the US welcomed victims from European countries escaping from the war as well as those from Asia running away from communist regimes. Since 1980, refugees were legally integrated into the state by the US government through identification and resettling, this continues to date. Today, the size of refugees in the US keeps growing gradually due to the civil wars in Syria and the European hit migration crisis. President Obama's administration championed the reception of refugees from the Middle East. In 2017, President Donald Trump imposed a ban on immigration from individual countries on the basis that they were a threat to national security (Weinstein et al.). Once these refugees have been identified, they are then vetted before being settled by the US Refugee Admission Program which formed in 1980 through the formation of the Refugee Act of 1980. This act was signed into law by the then president, Jimmy Carter. This act granted the government the power to admit fifty thousand refugees annually with an option of further adding in case of emergencies. The number of refugees with nowhere to go has dropped significantly in recent years from the 120,000 people in 1990 to 85,000 people in 2016 (UNHCR). The decreased number can be attributed to President Obama's efforts to help rescue more people from the worsening Syria war conflict. His goal was to increase the number of refugees to 110,000 by 2017. Once these refugees set foot in the States, the US State Department in collaboration with other agencies will process them before they can register officially with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The US government should see to it that this number is doubled in the next few years due to ever increasing insecurity in the Middle East and Europe.

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The US is quietly lifting the ban and limit the number of refugees that come in, as the question; should the US double the number refugees, continues to rage on. In my opinion is, it would be great for the US to increase refugee numbers for both self-interest and the world in general (Harris). President Trump's effort to curtail immigration have only proven futile. Figures quoted are that refugees will increase from 830 weekly in a month's time to 1500 people weekly in over three months. Refugees are waiting for a chance to step foot in the States this could help to reduce congestion in some European countries. The German government recently stated that it was going to admit close to a million refugees annually. The move has caused a stir, with pressure piling up on countries with more capable and sustainable economies like the US to increase their refugee intake. The latter is as a result of an increased number of refugees in the world today with reports showing an all-time high. Questions begin to arise of whether countries like the US are committing enough towards the refugee crisis.

The US has been a leader regarding economic and political development. Geographically, the United States seems to be protected from significant inflows directly crossing borders of neighboring countries. However, the US must assert its leadership role in world affairs in doing more to resettle refugees. It remains the fact that the US, are still timid on registering refugees ever since the 9/11 bombing leaving a resentment towards terrorists who could enter the country as refugees.

After the ugly Vietnamese war, the United States took it upon itself to resettle close to a million Indochinese, so why can't they do that for refugees from Syria and Iraq? For example, in Afghanistan, the influx of refugees migrating into Europe was overwhelmingly huge. It was the US that helped to stop this, which they should also help to fix. Through refugee resettlement, America will continue to show its values regarding their beliefs to lead (Newland, 2018). For nations to stand against the continued terrorist war in the Middle East, unwavering support must be given to the refugees fleeing from ISIS and terrorist stricken regions.

America should allow double the number of refugees for sheer self-interests. Primarily, the US has before benefited from resettlement of refugees. During the World War II, it was scientific refugees from Germany that helped the US to win the war (Newland). Refugees from other countries have also steered the industrial revolution in the US. Refugees like Andy Grove from Hungary, Carlos Gutierrez from Cuba and Vietnamese scholars are some of the founders of high-tech corporations. As of 1992, refugees that entered the US were double that of today, this shows how the numbers have dropped in recent years. We should undoubtedly double the numbers for the good of the nation.

America's new push to admit more refugees, this hopefully could be doubled, is justified as before arrival there is intense security screening (Hughes). Refugees are thoroughly checked before any admission by the USRAP; this is mainly to eliminate any threats they posed to the nation. Once a refugee is approved he or she must go through security screening as well as medical examinations- (emphasis not to allow anyone with active tuberculosis). This process takes quite a while averagely between 18 to 24 months before any confirmation. It is very thorough, no stones are left unturned, as they say, and is a matter of national security. Refugees go through intense security checks; the biometric (examining fingerprints) and the biographic (HuffPost). These security acts require proper coordination of different federal agencies; the Department of Defense, FBI and USCIS. Taking in more refugees will be a boost to the security status of the US as it puts the various agencies to the test of keeping the bad guys out.

Taking more refugees and doubling the number of refugees in the US is a matter of responsibility. The crisis in Syria is a current security situation, in which refugees flee from the ISIS invasion. These are consequences of the Bashar al-Assad rule and the Iraqi war. Admission of refugees would be a medium-term solution as it allows the refugees to stay for a while before they could return home once their host countries achieve normalcy (Global Citizen). Saving lives and improving people's well-being should be a priority for the US government, given they are the most prominent economy they ought to respond highlighting their involvement in world matters. Given the overwhelming number of people that flee to neighboring countries, America should assume responsibility to help relieve countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan of stagnating refugee camps (Guides.ll.georgetown.edu). These refugee camps could prove counterproductive as the militia in Syria may use these bases as recruitment grounds.

Resettlement into the United States would be less costly as compared to the deployment of the military in the Middle East. Recently, close to 30 countries agreed to evenly distribute the burden of up to 133,000 refugees at a staggering cost of $2 billion annually (Newsweek). Should the US decide to double the number of refugees, given its economic might and size, it would cost close to how much is spent in the air war waged against the Islamic States trying to stop terrorism. Military intervention is costing the US almost between $4 trillion and $6 trillion. For example in 2014, $88 billion was spent in Afghanistan alone (MacBride). During this war, an estimated 7000 American soldiers have died with over 50,000 wounded. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians have been killed. The US policy based ideology of saving lives rather than rescuing these refugees is quite flawed and holds little regarding rationale. Choosing to double the refugees instead of fighting this war would save lives as well as spending.

It's so unfortunate how some leaders around the world, especially in the European Union and the United States, continue to polarize and spread anti-refugee chants. The chants have continued to hinder efforts to bring these refugees to safety (The Century Foundation). As opposed to fighting the war in Syria, it is reasonable both morally and financially to rescue these people from oppression. It is purported that refugees pose threats to national security which seems not to make sense given no evidence points to refugees causing any harm. An open-door policy must be adapted to show the radicals the US cares for people of Middle East origin as opposed to what is now driving the agenda for these extremists.

In recent years, the arrival of refugees mainly from the Middle East has been viewed with suspicion and fear as a destructive force to the community (Council on Foreign Relations). These refugees once on American soil only strive to achieve the American dream and not terrorism. It's time for the US to act like Arab lives matter and wipe out the villain status which has done nothing other than attracting enemies across the world (Ignatieff). There is little to fear or be suspicious about given the intense security checks before these refugees can be admitted. At times these security checks are meant to intimidate refugees and scare them away.

The US at this stage has continued to count on its allies to shoulder a considerable number of refugees into their countries. These countries are; Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, which house close to over four million displaced persons (The Century Foundation). Depending on these nations has destabilized some of the economy of some as they gave their limited resources to sustain the ever-growing number of refugees. It is time for the US stand up and act as an example before it asks its allied nations to take up roles in saving the Syrian refugee situation (Ignatieff). Attempts to close the Syria refugee program could only prove futile as this could alter further the ISIS resentment towards the West. There may be reasons why people think it is not prudent to double the refugee numbers, but as it stands saving hundreds of thousands from their misery and death is the only option that upholds our human nature towards another human. The only solution is to get actively involved, providing the humanitarian aid is a privilege that cannot be passed.

Works Cited

Council on Foreign Relations. (2018). How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work? [online] Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-does-us-refugee-system-work [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018].

Global Citizen. (2018). The US Just Quietly Doubled the Number of Refugees It Is Accepting. [online] Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-us-just-quietly-doubled-the-number-of-refugees/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018].

Guides.ll.georgetown.edu. (2018). Guides: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Refugees in the United States. [online] Available at: http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4173566 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018].

Harris, G. (2018). U.S. Quietly Lifts Limit on Number of Refugees Allowed In. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/politics/united-states-refugees-trump.html [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018].

HuffPost. (2018). 4 Reasons the US Should Support the Resettlement of Syrian Refugees. [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/owen-daniels/four-reasons-the-us-shoul_b_86307...