A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. After the attacks on the twin towers in New York city September 11th, 2001, the terms refugee, immigrant, asylum seeker and foreigner have adopted a whole new stigma among many Americans.Unfortunately, in todays world, it is not just the terminology that is off-putting anymore. Oftentimes, Americans are struck with a sense of fear or uncertainty when they see someone who resembles a person of Islamic culture or any social group that that are not particularly familiar with. Although several events throughout history have occurred that lead to these negative stigmas, it is important for Americans to reflect on how we would want to be treated in times of dyer need, as well as the fact that all of mankind is capable of both good and evil despite race.

In recent years, regions in the Middle East have been in a state of upset, putting thousands  and thousands of innocent lives in danger. The current policies that the United States Department of Homeland Security have in place have been failing to ensure the safety of other people and their loved ones. Their first priority can, will, and should be the citizens of the United States, but it can also be on our agenda to gift the freedom our country provides to others even if they were not born here. It is the responsibility of Americans to protect members of other countries regardless of social class, race, religion, and ethnicity who are being faced with persecution and violence within their current homes and neighborhoods. Americans should also feel a sense of pride in the United States due to the many opportunities and rights they are fortunate enough to possess. To make it a goal of ours to keep these wonders from outside residents is not only unfair and unjust, but it is illegal too.

An article called “Syria’s Collapse And How Washington Can Stop It,” published by the council on foreign relations reveals that what has occurred in Syria is one of the largest uprisings in history. It has killed over 80 thousand people and displaced nearly half  of Syrias twenty-two million citizens. At the time of publication in 2013, the monthly death toll was nearly 6,000 which is higher than the one during the war in Iraq in 2007. It is inevitable for a vast amount of people to flee these circumstances of war and persecution, yet the United States fails to resettle eligible people who need a place to escape to.

According to Nolo, a website that posts the most recent laws regarding immigration, one is eligible to seek asylum if they have been persecuted in the past or they have a fear that they will be persecuted if they return to their home countries. To elaborate on what it means exactly to be persecuted, Iona Bray, an expert on immigration eligibility, says that it is to be discriminated again on the basis of “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or their political opinion.” She goes on to stress that it is a "means to harass, punish, injure, oppress, or otherwise cause someone to suffer physical or psychological harm." These definitions are vital to understand because they explicitly states the current guidelines for who is eligible to seek asylum in the United States and who is not. Therefore, if we are turning away people who are under these circumstances, it would be illegal.

Unfortunately, we are doing just that. On January 16th of this year, 2017, Joshua Partlow published an article about how United States border officials have been illegally turning away asylum seekers. Partlow is The Washington Posts bureau chief in Mexico as well as a security and defense expert. He explains the story of a man from Guatemala who made an attempt just months ago to seek refugee here in the United States. The man pleas “I am fleeing my country… I am being persecuted in a matter of life and death” (Partlow The Washington Post). He also told border officials that he has already faced two attempts on his life and wants to come here before he faces any more. This man was told that he was to be put on a waiting list to be able to present his case to United States officials. However, he later was refused the right to even be put on the list.

Just before Christmas last year in 2016, a thirty-four year old woman from Honduras approached officials with her six year old daughter. She told them, “I don’t have a visa but I want asylum” (Partlow The Washington Post) because she had been suffering from her abusive husband at home. According to her written declaration she provided to her lawyer, in response she was told, “No, get out of here, and go back to your country” (Partlow The Washington Post). Shortly after when she attempted to plead her case she was told by a different, female border official that she did not want “illegals in her country,” and “to come back if [she] had a visa” (Partlow The Washington Post). After these interactions and being sent back to her home country, the woman was so desperate to seek a safer life for her and her daughter that she swam across the Rio Grande until she was picked up by other U.S. border patrol officers.

A final example of an attempt to escape persecution is brought to light by Melissa Fleming, speaker of a TED talk titled “Let’s Help Refugees Thrive, not Just Survive.” She has been lucky enough to meet and converse deeply with many Syrian refugees. She says the first questions she asks them are “who bombed your house? Who killed your son? Did the rest of your family make it out alive? and most importantly what did you take” (Flemming, Ted Talk). She asks “what did you take” in reference to anything they happened to grab admit the chaos of bombs were plummeting into their neighborhoods and armed gangs shooting their friends and families. A story of one boy specifically is told who said the only thing that he was able to grab in time was his high school diploma. When asked why he went for that one piece of paper and rather than anything else, he responded that his life depended on that piece of paper. These are the true circumstances in Syria that thousands of people are faced with on a daily basis. At the time this talk was given in October 2014, 50  million people had been forced out of their homes by conflict and war, and the numbers have only risen since then.

It is incidents such as these where peoples lives are in grave danger and Americans are turning them away from a better life that are completely unjust. Sadly, Kathryn Shepherd who is a lawyer with the American Immigration Council said that “this is happening on a daily basis” (Partlow The Washington Post). In addition to the U.S. border officials illegally turning away people, the judiciary committee has denied multiple proposals over the years to alter our policies and make the processes for refugees easier. Regardless of the denial to allow the Honduran woman, her child, and the Guatemalan man entry into our country and a better life, attacks on United States soil will still most likely occur at some point or another. Some will even occur because of the poor intentions of Americans themselves. U.S. citizens with good intentions however, possess the power to encourage acceptance of these innocent people who have good reason to flee their home countries in an attempt to enter ours. Our Border Agency whom deals with customs and border issues admits that we are at fault for “systematic denial of entry to asylum seekers” (Partlow The Washington Post) without just reason. 

One man who supports this systematic denial is Dave Piepkorn. Dave is a 56 year old man and lifelong resident in Fargo, North Dakota who has promised to uncover the money spent on resettling refugees. He is not happy with all of the money being essentially handed to foreigners and claims that the state should be suing the government to reimburse them the money they have spent on helping asylum seekers. The City Commission calculated that each individual costs about three thousand dollars to resettle. What Piepkorn fails to recognize is that his own ancestors were most likely immigrants at some point. If it were to cost just three thousand dollars to secure his mother a safe, persecution-free lifestyle, I am confident that he would pay it in a heartbeat. Both his and many other peoples ancestors were immigrants and if we adopted his views and began to refuse the resettling of refugees, that would make for many broken families. This small upset of North Dakota’s choice to support incoming refugees can be applied to the broader scope of the United States attempts at accepting them as well, which many people refute. It is of upmost importance that people like Piepkorn understand the circumstances and intentions of refugees before they make attempts at taking away the freedom that is rightfully that of those who seek safety. 

A spokes person for the DNews podcasts defines what it truly means to be a refugee and the need to seek asylum. He enforces to listeners that “refugees, they are forced to leave their country. They have risks of prosecution, refugees have concerns over human rights and safety, they are not usually moving for economic advantage, they are being forced out.” (DNews Youtube). Refugees leave most of their belongings, friends and families behind in their home countries. Some are even forced to flee without warning whatsoever because of experiences with significant trauma and torture. Not only has their lives at home been incredibly rough, their path of travel in order to get to American is usually dangerous. Unlike a migrant, who can prepare their things to leave and seek a job opportunity in another country prior to departure, refugees cannot choose their method of travel like buying a plane ticket. The spokesman reiterates that “the whole point of being a refugee is [that] it was dangerous there, so i’m either leaving because I want to be more safe or i’m leaving because the environment has forced me to do so” (DNews Youtube). 

The path of asylum seekers is forced and unwilling. If their home countries were safe then they would have little reason to leave and seek a new life in the United States. Not only would congress creating more accepting policies regarding immigrants coming to the United States benefit those who have been persecuted, it would actually advance national security, military, and civic values. This gives little excuse to not resettle asylum seekers or grant refugee status to as many people as we can.

I do acknowledge the fears of many Americans because I myself have experienced them from time to time when I have traveled via airplane. It is true that we do not always know peoples intentions, but I always trust in the procedures set in place to keep air travel safe. Everyone and their possessions go through security, everyone gets their identifications verified, and everyone’s name on their ticket when they board the plane must match the name on their birth certificate. Similarly, many people who seek asylum in our country are being persecuted where they currently reside. Their only intentions are to achieve a better life for themselves, their children, and their families. Any American who has had a frustrating experience in their airport can relate to a feeling of attack when you feel truly innocent. The women and children who are abused and persecuted at home getting denied entry into our country feel attacked too, when their only intentions are to escape the current dangers of their country.

Several amendments to ensure that “all asylum seekers initiate their claims through a non-adversarial process,” were voted against by the Judiciary Committee. This proposal was in response to asylum seekers having to submit an application to the United States and entire year before stepping onto U.S. soil. If someone is being persecuted, or even enduring a lot of financial hardships in their own country, a year continuing to suffer is an extremely long time to hold out. Even Tara Magner and Donald Kerwin, United States security experts point out that most people who want to come to the U.S. are seeking “protection from organized crime, gang violence, and threats of human trafficking.” Which is just another source of many that proves U.S. congress should be more progressive in promoting refugee security and protection. Kerwin expands to argue that foreigners have the power to “advance national security by contributing to a states economic vitality, military strength, diplomatic standing, and civic values.” 

If the United States would just bring to light the history of immigration laws and show how people’s current opinions of those who simply seek safety may not be so rational, we could change thousands of lives. It is very important that the United States play a major role in helping other nations. We are very fortunate to have the resources to do so and  have been able to welcome and settle many refugees in our neighborhoods with few negative repercussions. It is up to Americans to encourage future changes to be more accepting and invite others into our nation.
