There’s no question that the images streaming out of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and central Europe are nauseating and nightmare-inducing. Nobody who looks at pictures of dead kids washed up on Turkish beaches is unmoved by the sight. No parent—or child—can sleep well after seeing kids dressed for a day of play lying face down in the surf. The site of a Hungarian “journalist” tripping refugees fleeing police is every bit as disturbing in its own way.
And there’s no question that U.S. refugee policy is inadequate, despite our being the single-largest donor of humanitarian aid to Syrians. Over 7 million Syrians have been displaced by civil war and terrorism since 2011 and in just the past few years, 4 million refugees have flooded into neighboring countries.
The U.S. has accepted just a little over 1,000 Syrians to date, though President Obama has just directed the State Department to up the figure to 10,000 and there are reports it may go as high as 100,000.
But even that highest number hardly makes us the morally pure Shining City on a Hill that we ritualistically lay claim to being. As a matter of standing policy—meaning a policy that has been rigorously shaped and sold to the American people, who understand and sign off on its merits as a matter of cultural identity–the United States should always be open to refugees from the world’s worst hellholes.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member