Do Refugee Fears Actually Keep Us Safe?
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In his address to Congress, United States President, Donald Trump said “It’s a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially.” He continues by claiming, “Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon.”
Trump's claims, in addition to his famous Muslim ban, are geared to do two things, blame immigrants and refugees for what our poorest citizens experience while inciting fear that if refugees enter our country, we will all be unsafe. What does this mean for refugees and Muslims currently living here? It means a constant barrage of hatred and hostility. A recently leaked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report concludes that not only does the travel ban not protect the US citizens from terror attacks, it may actually cause them. The report makes the case that foreign-born, U.S.-based violent extremists are |
likely not radicalized when entering the United States at all, rather they are radicalized after living in the U.S. for many years. Meaning claims that refugees will enter the US radicalized to commit attacks, are false.
The report tracks 88 violent, foreign–born extremists in the United States and concludes that more than half had been in the U.S. more than 10 years before experiencing indictment or death for extremism. What we can also conclude from this report is that political rhetoric surrounding refugees reaching Islamophobic levels, may actually fuel radicalization. For the last year, activists have been warning about Islamophobia and what hatful rhetoric could lead to, but the fearmongering continues to rage on. Gallup reports that 52% of Americans agree that the West does not respect Muslim societies. Adding to that, 57% of Muslim societies believe Muslims in the West are not treated as equal citizens. |
The leaked DHS report last week also found that citizens from the seven countries in Trump’s first Muslim ban are “rarely implicated in U.S.-based terrorism” and that a person’s citizenship is an “unreliable indicator of terrorist threat to the United States.”
To answer the question; do refugee fears actually keep us safe, the answer is an astounding no. The opposite effect is more likely to happen. Claims that a country will be safer if it closes its boarders and “watch” its Muslim population, is dangerous. The report suggested that if people from other countries are allowed in and connect with their new country and become part of a community that actually welcomes them, they are less likely to be radicalized.
So what are the next steps? We educate people on how non-threatening refugees entering the U.S are, and make a plea for our politicians to help save the 4.9 million suffering refugees. It is up to us to tell the world that we accept refugees, and we do not accept Islamophobic rhetoric stopping us from opening our hearts and minds.
Melody LeBeau
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About Melody
Melody LeBeau is the Program Director and one of the co-founders for I Am Syria, where she plays a key role administering its webpage and social media outreach, including its Seven Days for Syria campaign.
LeBeau has worked in human rights activism since college, where she started working with the Summer Institute For Human Rights and Genocide Studies. LeBeau has recently co-authored an article in the Huffington Post, spreading awareness about the Syrian Conflict, and I Am Syria.
LeBeau has worked in human rights activism since college, where she started working with the Summer Institute For Human Rights and Genocide Studies. LeBeau has recently co-authored an article in the Huffington Post, spreading awareness about the Syrian Conflict, and I Am Syria.
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