Last semester my Refugee Seminar student, Michael Patrick, wrote an excellent paper in which he draws parallels between present day refugees fleeing Syria with refugees who fled France and other European countries during the World War II era. The paper is compelling because he shares with us his grandmother’s World War II era refugee flight from France. Mr. Patrick has given me permission to post his paper here in order share it with a wider world. Read and learn.
Lady Liberty Shines Her Torch on the Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Few:The United States recycles old policies into new bottles
Michael Patrick
Introduction
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”[1] The world is witnessing the largest refugee crisis since the horrors of World War II, and although these events are separated by a gap of over 60 years, the actions taken by our country bare haunting similarities. Today there are close to 11 million Syria refugees.[2] Four million refugees have been registered with the United Nations since 2011, and another seven million have been displaced internally.[3] Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, the United States has only issued refugee visas to 1,500 Syrian Refugees.[4] The United Nations has referred 17,000 Syrians to the United States for asylum consideration.[5] Out of those 17,000, The Obama Administration has said it would like to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next fiscal year.[6] This will be hard to achieve since there remains a backlog of 78,821 pending asylum applications as of February 2015.[7]
These numbers are reflective of several factors such as the economic state of the country, societal fears, and political pressures. This same combination of factors present today was present during the time of the Holocaust and WWII. It was these factors, that prevented the United States from taking action then, and the same factor that are preventing it from taking action now. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933, Americans were struggling to survive the greatest economic depression the country had ever seen.[8] Many Americans feared that needy immigrants would take precious jobs or place an added strain on an already burdened economy. When Obama assumed office in 2009, Americans were struggling to survive the greatest economic recession the country had seen since the Great Depression.[9] Many Americans feared that needy immigrants would take precious jobs or place an added strain on an already burdened economy.
I chose this topic because of my familiar connections to policies in place during World War II. My grandmother fled France during the war, and had to do so by dangerous, and illegal means due to the quotas and regulations in place at the time. It is because of the factors listed above and the policies in place that children like her, and hundreds of thousands others, were turned away from the United States. It is the same factors and policies that have reemerged today and caused the American people to remember the fear, the hate, and the false sense of “patriotism.” It has forced the United States to recycle old policies into new bottles in hopes that the American people will be so distracted by the face of their fears, that they will not notice the bad taste in their mouths. We, as a nation, have become so uninformed and so uneducated on the important issues, that we have allowed the face of our fear to blind us.
This paper will briefly discuss the history of asylum law in the United States, and compare the post-WWII events to those happening now during the Syrian Civil War. We will take a look at the journeys of two children, one during the Second World War in the 1940’s, and the other during the Syrian Civil War in 2015. This paper will also explain three of the factors in place both then and now. While shining light on the requirements, quotas, and regulations that the United States has placed on Asylum Seekers, this paper will propose possible solutions to the current refugee crisis in hopes to spread the breath of freedom from the few to the masses. With any luck, our nation can begin to take the necessary steps forward, and lead away from the vicious cycle of fear and towards the true meaning of “liberty and justice for all.”
Below is the introductory paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. One of the documents that our country was founded on spells out exactly how our citizens were intended to treat people, especially during their times of need:
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”[10]
To found a nation based on these principles, and then refuse the compassion and assistance asked from you in a new group of persecuted, demonstrates how influential this fear can be. We need our beacons of hope, we need our revered leaders, we need Lady Liberty to remind the world who we are and what the United States stands for. That is not done by closing our boarders, by turning away the persecuted, by becoming that which our forefathers fought against, the face of our own fear.
History of the United States Immigration Policies
In 1938, more than 300,000 Germans-mostly Jewish refugees-had applied for U.S. visas (entry permits). A little over 20,000 applications were approved. From 1938 to 1941, thousands of Jewish refugees were admitted into the United States under the combined German-Austrian quota.[11] This declined when the United States entered WWII. Because of the country’s involvement with the war, strict immigration policies were put into place out of fear that refugees could be agents for Nazi Germany. However, it was not until January of 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt first took action to rescue European Jews during World War II.[12] FDR Established the War Refugee Board (WRB) to begin the rescue of refugees.[13] With the help of the WRB, Fort Ontario in New York became a free port for refugees. A few thousand Jewish Refugees were allowed there, but they came from liberated areas only with no imminent danger of deportation or death.[14]
The End of the war left hundreds of thousands of Jewish displaced persons, emerging from concentration camps and hiding places with no where to call home. The strict immigration regulations were still in place in the United States, with little hope for legislation to act as fast as those displaced would need. President Truman recognized this and he issued the “Truman Directive” in December 1945.[15] This executive order required that existing immigration quotas be designated for displaced persons. Almost 23,000 displaced persons were admitted into the United States between 1945 and 1947.[16] Although this was a step in the right direction, a change in legislation was needed before any existing quotas could be increased. In 1948, Congress passed legislation that admitted 400,000 displaced persons to the United Persons, however only 20 percent of these were Jewish displaced persons.[17] It was not until 1951 that any substantial immigration reform came to the U.S.
The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was signed on July 28, 1951 in Geneva Switzerland.[18] It was a treaty that defined a refugee, as well as set out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum. It explained the responsibilities of the nations that would grant asylum and included a list of people who did not qualify for as refugees. Initially the convention was designed to protect post-WWII European refugees from before 1951. States were given the option to make a declaration that the provisions of the convention would apply to refugees from other places as well. This was the standard for refugees until 1967 when the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees was put into place. The protocol amended the policies from the convention. It removed both time and geographic restrictions that were placed on refugees, although the choice remained with the states to keep their restrictions in place.
Article 1 of the Convention, as amended by the 1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as:
“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it..”[19]
This remains the definition in place today, and most of the rights granted by the convention still stand as well. Even with this definition in place, the Syrian refugee crisis occurring today bares striking resemblance to the crisis during and after the Second World War.
The Crisis in Syria
In 2011, the Syrian people began to lead peaceful demonstrations against the political entities at power. Unfortunately, the Syrian government responded by torturing, killing, and shooting at the protesters. These situations continued and escalated into a civil war.[20] With the county being divided into territories amongst the government, rebels, and Islamic extremists, the people of Syria began to flee to neighboring countries.
By June of 2011, 8,500 Syrian refugees had fled to Lebanon and Turkey.[21] Those numbers steadily increased over the years. Today, more than 4 million Syrian people have left their country and sought refuge in countries all over the world.[22] The United Nations has helped lead the relief efforts through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR is a United Nations agency set up to protect and support refugees.[23] As the civil war continues in Syria, the UNHCR has helped to coordinate the resettlement and local integration.
Although relief efforts have increased globally, the United States has only recently begun to lend its resources. From 2011 to 2013, the United States accepted only 90 Syrians.[24] That number increased to 1,500 Syrians as of September 2015.[25] Secretary of State John Kerry announced in late September that the Obama Administration would increase the number of refugees the United States is willing to accept in 2017 to 100,000.[26] Unfortunately, this decision by the administration was met with much disapproval by the state department and the American people, and was severely criticized after the events in Paris in November 2015.
On November 13, 2015, a series of terrorist attacks occurred in Paris, France.[27] These attacks consisted of mass shootings, suicide bombings, and hostage taking. These attacks killed 130 people and injured another 368.[28] This was the deadliest threat that France faced since World War II, and much like its predecessor, it brought back very similar fears to the United States. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would make it more difficult for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States.[29] As of the date of this paper, the bill still needs to pass the Senate, but President Obama stated that if it does pass the Senate, he would veto the bill.[30] In addition to the reaction from Congress, the individual states have taken action as well. Although the decision to accept refugees belongs to the federal government, at least 31 state governors have opposed accepting Syrian refugees into their states. This seems to only be the start of the country’s regression to World War II policies, which caused so many problems for Jewish refugees. To show just how similar these policies are, we will look at the stories of two children who share in their persecution over after a gap of 70 years.
The Journeys of Anna and Aylan
Anna Rosenpik was born on January 28, 1940 in Paris, France.[31] She lived in France with her parents, Feja and Mordecai Rosenpik, and her five siblings.[32] At the time, the Carlingue was the police force during the German occupation of France. The Carlingue were French auxiliaries who worked for the Gestapo.[33] In 1942, members of the Carlingue murdered Anna’s parents.[34] After their deaths, her two teenage brothers, Eli and Isaiah, cared for Anna. The two boys kept the family in hiding for several years, constantly fleeing and outrunning the German Soldiers.
Due to the strict immigration policies in the United States, Anna and her siblings could not flee the country of France through any legal means. The Convention had not yet taken place; so asylum-seeking refugees were not easily accepted into the States. On April 30, 1946, Her brothers traveled several hours from Paris to the port of Le Havre France.[35] It was here that they were able to smuggle little Anna on to the S.S. Uruguay set for New York.
Upon arrival, 6-year-old Anna was met by Mrs. Pauline W. Taylor and her husband James H. Taylor.[36] The Taylors were a Canadian couple living in Manhattan, who were known for arranging off the record adoptions and resettlements for Jewish immigrants. The Taylor family arranged an adoption for little Anna to be cared for by a prominent family in New York City. Anna lived a fortunate childhood, and was afforded all of the rights and privileges of a United States Citizen. Anna Meisels happens to be my Grandmother.
Today, Anna lives in Orlando, Florida as Anna Meisels. Over the years, Anna has had the chance to marry a wonderful man, the opportunity to have three children, 4 grandchildren, and even two great-grandchildren. Through months of extensive research, I was able to find out that my grandmother was not the only one of her siblings to make it aboard the S.S. Uruguay. In June of 2015, I located her biological sister Dora living in Utah. After careful planning, I arranged a meeting between Anna and Dora. They shared their lives and experiences, and cried over the memories of their journey. Not all journeys have a happy ending however. Decades later and the immigration policies are still as strict as they were during the war. Seventy years after my grandmother’s journey from persecution, we arrive in 2015, with the story of Aylan Kurdi.
Aylan Kurdi was born in 2013 in Kobani, Syria.[37] Kurdi’s family lived in Syria at the beginning of 2015, but fled to Turkey in June of 2015 when Islamic Terrorists attacked the city of Kobani. After a denied application for asylum from the Canadian government, Kurdi’s father arranged for a final chance to get his family out of Turkey. Sadly, this chance had fatal consequences. Kurdi’s father illegally paid $5,860 for four spaces on a boat set for Greece.[38] The boat was about five meters long and did not last long into the journey.
Five minutes after leaving a beach in Turkey, the boat capsized and forced 12 people into the water.[39] Aylan’s father tried to hold on to his wife and two children, but one by one they washed away. Little Aylan’s body washed up on the shore of the Turkish coast and photos were released as more came ashore. Three-year-old Aylan Kurdi died on September 2, 2015[40], never reaching freedom and never knowing a life without fear.
Unfortunately Aylan will never have the opportunities that my grandmother had. Both struck with persecution, both experienced loss, both made the dangerous journey, only one survived. Now why do I use these two people’s stories? To show that the reasons they were forced to make their dangerous journeys were the same. The policies in place and the state of the union, both during WWII and now, forced illegal and extreme measures to be taken by caregivers and parents.
Recycled Factors from Then to Now
There are many factors that were present during the 1940’s, herein after referred to as “WWII”, that are present again now. It is this combination of factors that has caused the United States to tighten its borders and turn thousands of refugees away. One of these factors is the economic state of the union. During both WWII and now, the United States was faced with a crippled economy, one that struck fear in the hearts of the people. Another factor present both then and now is an overwhelming sense of xenophobia, that is the intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. A third factor the two eras have in common is the political pressure placed on the executive branch. Two different administrations, separated by over half a century, both face alarmingly similar hurdles. The first factor we will look at is the economy during both eras.
Economic State of the Union
The Great Depression occurred over a decade from 1929 to 1939.[41] It was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the world. The Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors.[42] Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped. People were reluctant to part with their money after the crash, saving and hording as much as they could. This caused quick and steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached the rock bottom, around 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed.[43] Though the relief and reform measures put into place by President FDR helped lessen the effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the economy did not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War II forced American industry into high gear.[44]
More recently, The Great Recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, began with the bursting of an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble.[45] As before with the depression, the resulting loss of wealth led to sharp cutbacks in consumer spending. This loss of spending, combined with the financial market, also led to a collapse in business investment. As consumer spending and business investment dried up, massive job loss followed. In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. labor market lost 8.4 million jobs, or 6.1% of all payroll employment.[46] This was the most dramatic employment loss of any recession since the Great Depression. The job loss during the Great Recession has meant a great deal to the economy today. Today the average family incomes have dropped significantly, poverty has risen, and adults as well as children have lost health insurance. Although we, as a nation, are on the rise from the events in 2008, we are still far from economic and employment security. This insecurity causes fear across the nation.
Societal Fears
Not only has the economy taken quite a hit, but also there is now an overwhelming increase in xenophobia within the United States. Xenophobia is the fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.[47] Unlike most phobias, xenophobia affects mass quantities of people. It is a deep-rooted fear that feeds on the people around it, and it is as contagious as the flu. Unfortunately, this sickness was prominent during the events of WWII, and has become more commonplace in recent years. Most xenophobes will rely on any excuse or reason to fuel their hatred towards members of another society or culture. Unfortunately, groups like ISIS give a name to that fear and “fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”[48]
In 1939, just six months before the start of WWII, author Raoul de Roussy de Sales defined American nationalism as a “permanent protest against the rest of the world.”[49] Now this sounds an awful lot like xenophobia. According to de Sales, American patriotism was born out of a forceful break with British tyranny.[50] By breaking off from the British government and succeeding in the Revolutionary War, Americans planted the seed for the fear to grow. A love for their new country and a hesitation towards any outsiders was just enough to slowly build over the years as the United States entered World War I and then the Second World War. By the time WWII came around, the United States had an overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism. Americans suffered a blow to their wallets, and looked for someone to blame. It was not until Hitler rose to power, that Americans had that someone. With the Nazi regime slowly growing in numbers, America faced the first world power that threatened their nation since the revolution. As Americans grew fearful, they directed their fear to the German refugees. These refugees brought the problem home to the United States, and the citizens were not ready to handle that. They feared the refugees were in the country to take jobs, waste resources, or spy for Nazi Germany.
Fast forward to September 11, 2001. America is faced with its single greatest terrorist attack in history. When the planes crashed into the twin towers, our society underwent some kind of metamorphosis. With each news story, each candlelight vigil, every time the footage was replayed, the fear grew. Every American flag in the front yard came with a caveat: that if you were not American, you were not to be trusted. After the war on terror was initiated, News came in that a man had been attacked because he wore a turban; or someone was stared at hatefully because he was brown or Muslim friends had their visa applications rejected. The fear grew over the years under the guise of patriotism, and has reached its peak in 2015. With the terrorists’ attacks in Paris, the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, and threats of future destruction, our society’s “patriotism” is at an all time high. The face of our fears has made itself known, and once again it has forced us to throw all morality by the wayside.
For example, Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president has said that he would deport any Syrian refugees allowed to enter this country under President Obama and didn’t rule out questionable surveillance measures to track American Muslims.[51] When talking about the proposed Muslim registry and databases, a reporter asked him why these solutions would be any different than having Jews register in Nazi Germany. Trumps only response was, “You tell me.”[52] It seems that he has once more upped the ante on the xenophobia that’s been sweeping through the country for some time. Syrians, Muslims, it is all the same. According to the xenophobes we need to build a wall, track them, deport them, and keep them out. Unfortunately, the nervousness coursing though society after the terrorist attack in Paris has made this kind of talk sound less unreasonable to more people, and we have Congress now struggling to find a way to appease voters who are calling into their offices demanding that refugees be denied entry into the country.
Presidential Pressures
The third relevant factor, both then and now, is the political pressure that is put on the executive branch. Regrettably, it is this political pressure that is often the driving force behind many of the executive decisions. Both during WWII and now, the office of the President was faced with opposition from Congress, the state department, and the people of the United States. It was often because of the first two factors stated above, that the President was even required to take action. Most presidents have learned the hard way that no matter what the decision is, it will be met with disapproval from one side or the other, with pressures to fix the problem. To show the comparison, let us go back to a date that will live in infamy, December 7, 1941.
On the morning of December 7th, Pearl Harbor suffered a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy.[53] This increased the level of “patriotism” described above, and eventually led to the United States entering World War II. The losses were great, and a hurt people turned to their commander in chief, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Although FDR was known for his aid in the relief efforts after the war, few people remember that he had first succumbed to great political pressure. Roosevelt came under increasing pressure by military and political advisors to address the nation’s fears of further Japanese attack or sabotage, particularly on the West Coast, where naval ports, commercial shipping and agriculture were most vulnerable.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, initiating a controversial policy with lasting consequences for Americans.[54] The document ordered the removal of resident enemy aliens from parts of the West vaguely identified as military areas. Japanese immigrants and their descendants, regardless of American citizenship status or length of residence, were systematically rounded up and placed in detention centers. Evacuees, as they were sometimes called, could take only as many possessions as they could carry and were housed in crude, cramped quarters. In the western states, camps on remote and barren sites housed thousands of families whose lives were interrupted and in some cases destroyed by Executive Order 9066.[55] Many lost businesses, farms and loved ones as a result. It was not until January of 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt first went against the state department and took action to rescue European Jews during World War II. Even then, the rescue efforts only affected people from liberated areas. Because of the disapproval, the War Refugee Board convinced FDR to allow small groups of Jewish Italian refugees to occupy an old army camp near Oswego, New York under the guise of “prisoners of war” To avoid violating the immigration laws.[56]
Now, in 2015, President Obama is met with the same hurdles of Congress, the state department, and the American public. From 2011 to 2015, roughly 1,500 Syrian refugees have been issued visas by the United States.[57] President Obama has stated that he would direct his administration to prepare to accept at least 10,000 refugees from Syria in fiscal year 2016.[58] This is in addition to the administrations goal to increase the maximum number of refugees accepted from around the world from 70,000 to 100,000 in 2017.[59] This has not been done through an executive order yet however, simply through a proposal submitted through to Congress. With the attacks in Paris and the current state of affairs in Europe, Congress has expressed its concerns in approving any action allowing potential threats to enter U.S. soil. To date, 31 state governors have issued orders refusing admittance to any Syrian refugees.[60] These governors have done this even though Immigration is a federal issue under the Constitution, and they may have no real authority to do so.
To show exactly what the administration is up against, below are remarks made from President Obama at the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey:
“This is a war on Terror, not a War on Islam. We don’t discriminate against people because of their faith. We don’t kill people because they’re different than us. That’s what separates us from them, We don’t feed that kind of notion, that somehow Christians and Muslims are at war, and if we want to be successful defeating ISIL, that’s a good place to start, by not promoting that kind of ideology, that kind of attitude. In the same way that the Muslim community has an obligation not to in any way excuse anti-Western or anti-Christian sentiment, we have the same obligation as Christians. Many of these refugees are the victims of terrorism themselves. That’s what they’re fleeing. Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values.”[61]
The fact that President Obama has to plead to the public morality to act as genuine human beings, says a lot about the state of affairs here in the United States. One of the fundamental roles of the President of the United States is to confront the face of our fears as the face of our hope. The President should be someone the people and the state stand behind. However it is that same fear that has confused the public and stripped all hope from them. What seems to be common sense to most people is being cast aside as “socialist views” or “nothing less than lunacy.”[62] The President’s policies have reached such criticism that a bill has already passed the house, and is currently before the senate on the matter. This has taken things a step further, and added legislative change to the three factors discussed above.
New Bottles Before the House
Below is the text of H. R. 4038, currently before the senate[63]:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015” or as the “American SAFE Act of 2015”.
SEC. 2. REVIEW OF REFUGEES TO IDENTIFY SECURITY THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Background Investigation. In addition to the screening conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall take all actions necessary to ensure that each covered alien receives a thorough background investigation prior to admission as a refugee. A covered alien may not be admitted as a refugee until the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence that each covered alien has received a background investigation that is sufficient to determine whether the covered alien is a threat to the security of the United States.
(b) Certification By Unanimous Concurrence. A covered alien may only be admitted to the United States after the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the unanimous concurrence of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to the appropriate Congressional Committees that the covered alien is not a threat to the security of the United States.
(c) Inspector General Review Of Certifications. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct a risk-based review of all certifications made under subsection (b) each year and shall provide an annual report detailing the findings to the appropriate Congressional Committees.
(d) Monthly Report. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appropriate Congressional Committees a monthly report on the total number of applications for admission with regard to which a certification under subsection (b) was made and the number of covered aliens with regard to whom such a certification was not made for the month preceding the date of the report. The report shall include, for each covered alien with regard to whom a certification was not made, the concurrence or nonconcurrence of each person whose concurrence was required by subsection (b).
(e) Definitions. In this Act:
(1) COVERED ALIEN. The term “covered alien” means any alien applying for admission to the United States as a refugee who
(A) is a national or resident of Iraq or Syria;
(B) has no nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Iraq or Syria; or
(C) has been present in Iraq or Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011.
(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. The term “appropriate Congressional Committees” means
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(G) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
(H) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives;
(J) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives;
(K) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(L) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.[64]
Proposed Amendments
I have made several changes to section two of the American SAFE Act of 2015. Below, underlined and in italics, are the amendments to the bill.
SEC. 2. REVIEW OF REFUGEES TO IDENTIFY SECURITY THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Background Investigation. In addition to the screening conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall take all actions necessary to ensure that each covered alien, once flagged as a person of interest, receives a thorough background investigation prior to admission as a refugee. A covered alien deemed as a person of interest may remain in a designated refugee area within the borders of the United States and may not be admitted as a refugee until the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence that each covered alien has received a background investigation that is sufficient to determine whether the covered alien is a threat to the security of the United States.
(b) Certification By Unanimous Concurrence. A covered alien may only be officially admitted to the United States after the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the unanimous concurrence of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to the appropriate Congressional Committees that the covered alien is not a threat to the security of the United States.
(c) Inspector General Review Of Certifications. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct a risk-based review of all certifications made under subsection (b) each year and shall provide an annual report detailing the findings to the appropriate Congressional Committees.
(d) Monthly Report. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appropriate Congressional Committees a monthly report on the total number of applications for admission with regard to which a certification under subsection (b) was made and the number of covered aliens with regard to whom such a certification was not made for the month preceding the date of the report. The report shall include, for each covered alien with regard to whom a certification was not made, the concurrence or nonconcurrence of each person whose concurrence was required by subsection (b).
(e) Limitations On Application Acceptance. The Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nor the appropriate Congressional Committees shall deny an application of any Covered Alien after sufficient background investigation is conducted and the Covered Alien is deemed a nonthreat to the security of the United States. The number of Covered Aliens admitted into the United States shall not be counted towards any quotas in place for refugees or asylum seekers.
(f) Definitions. In this Act:
(1) COVERED ALIEN. The term “covered alien” means any alien applying for admission to the United States as a refugee who
(A) is a national or resident of a country at war;
(B) has no nationality and whose last habitual residence was in a country of war; or
(C) has been affected by an act of terrorism during a time of war.
(2) PERSON OF INTEREST. The term “person of interest” means any alien applying for admission to the united states as a refugee who
(A) is a national or resident of Iraq or Syria;
(B) has no nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Iraq or Syria;
(C) has been present in Iraq or Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011.or
(D) has been flagged as having connections to known enemies of state.
(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. The term “appropriate Congressional Committees” means
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(G) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
(H) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives;
(J) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives;
(K) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(L) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
The above amendments are in place to show the potential that this bill has. By changing the definition of a Covered Alien, this bill allows for any refugee during a time of war to be able to apply for refuge in the United States. Broadening the definition keeps the bill relevant through the Syrian refugee crisis and into any potential future crisis down the road. The addition of subsection (e) is the most important addition to the bill. The United States currently has an admission ceiling of 70,000 people.[65] So far in 2015, the number of actual arrivals are at 69,933.[66]
With the new subsection in place, the number of Covered Aliens accepted into the country will not count against the ceiling, nor will a refugee’s acceptance depend on the number of available slots. I understand our nation’s concern for security, especially given the recent attacks across Europe. The proposed solutions by the presidential candidates have all sounded proper under the blinders of fear: “put up a wall”, “only let Christian Syrians in”, or “create a database of registered Muslims.”[67] We, as a country, are mere steps away from repeating the Japanese internment camps, Jewish registration, and numbered tattoos that plagued the world. However the bill, as amended, will keep the refugees in the country during the time of their investigations, and will serve a greater intended purpose: to protect a persecuted class from the people who will do them harm. This was the purpose for our country in the first place after all.
Conclusion
As we can clearly see, the refugee problem in the United States is not something that can be solved overnight, nor is it something that can be solely fixed through legislative changes. The Syrian Refugee Crisis has become the largest crisis since World War II. Now sadly, All the same arguments against letting in the Jews during the war are now being deployed to keep out the Syrians. This is due to several factors that were present then, and have returned now. The first factor is the economic state of the union. During the first era, the U.S. was in a great depression, during the second, a severe recession. The second factor is a growing feeling of xenophobia, which is a fear of people from another country. During the war it was a fear of German immigrants who might potentially be Nazi spies. Now, it is a fear of Syrian refugees who might potentially be ISIS Terrorists. Finally, the third factor is political pressure placed on the president. Congress, the state department, and the American people all expressed disapproval when FDR suggested lending assistance to German and Austrian refugees. Those same entities grimaced when President Obama declared that he wanted to let more Syrian refugees into the United States.
By eliminating the strength of these factors, we will be able to lessen their affects on the policies and regulations put into place in our country. Through proper fiscal changes, our country has already begun to lift itself out of the poor economic state it has seen. The irrational fear of foreign people can be cured through removing the ignorance with proper education and explanation. With the presidential election coming this next year, there will hopefully be a shift in political power. This shift will help remove the pressures placed on the administration, and will allow whomever is president to make the necessary changes in regards to the refugees. Unfortunately, these societal changes will not solve the problem by themselves. There must also be a change in the appropriate legislation.
The America SAFE Act has the potential to be that appropriate legislation. By adding my proposed amendments, this act can protect refugees from future persecution while ensuring the resources are being used for the right people. With a broader definition of a Covered Alien, we can make the act more timeless and more inclusive. It will take time to battle the fear, time and courage. Unfortunately, as long as there is a face to the fear felt by the people, that fear will never dissipate, but it can be overcome. During the Revolution it was the British, WW2 it was the Germans and Japanese, the Cold War it was the Russians, the War in Afghanistan it was the Taliban, and today it is ISIS. Fear will always have a face, but we cannot, as a nation allow it to blind us to what is most important: That mighty woman with her torch, the Mother of Exiles.[68]
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”[69]
Lady liberty’s torch has been diminished to a flickering flame. The aforementioned factors and necessary legislative changes will act as the catalysts necessary to turn that matchstick to the roaring fire of freedom it was meant to be. To quote James Neil Hollingworth, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than one’s fear.”[70] Hopefully soon, our country will throw out old policies founded in fear, and form new ones out of good judgment to spread Lady Liberty’s breath of freedom from the huddled few, back to the masses.
* J.D. Candidate 2017, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law; B.S. Legal Studies, 2013 University of Central Florida
[1] Quote from George Santayana
[2] Norton, B. (2015) A guide to the worst refugee crisis since WWII. Available at: https://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/refugee-crisis-since (Accessed: 22 October 2015).
[3] Id.
[4] FactC (2015) Facts about the Syrian refugees. Available at: https://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/facts-about-the-syrian-refugees/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Scribner, H. (2015) Why this Syrian refugee crisis looks similar to world war II. Available at: https://national.deseretnews.com/article/6772/Why-this-Syrian-refugee-crisis-looks-similar-to-World-War-II.html (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[9] Id.
[10] The declaration of independence (no date) Available at: https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[11] United States Policy Toward Jewish Refugees, 1941–1952 (2015) Available at: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007094 (Accessed: 22 October 2015).
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] United States Policy and its Impact on European Jews (2015) Available at: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007652 (Accessed: 22 October 2015).
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees no date, c. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html (Accessed: 22 October 2015).
[19] Article 1 of the Convention relating to the status of refugees.
[20] Gilsinan, K. (2015) The confused person’s guide to the Syrian civil war. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/syrian-civil-war-guide-isis/410746/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[21] yalibnan. “8500 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, report”. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
[22] hvlawgroup (2015) Syrian Asylum Statistics – Who Knew? And What Now?. Available at: https://immigrationlawmonitor.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/syrian-asylum-statistics-who-knew-and-what-now/ (Accessed: 22 October 2015).
[23] “History of UNHCR: A global humanitarian organization of humble origins”. UNHCR. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
[24] “Why isn’t America taking in more Syrian refugees? “. Al Jazeera America. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
[25] Id.
[26] “U.S. to Increase Admission of Refugees to 100,000 in 2017, Kerry Says”. New York Times (Berlin).
[27] Paris terror attacks (no date) Available at: https://www.cnn.com/specials/paris-terror-attacks (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[28] “Paris attacks death toll rises to 130”. RTE News. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
[29] US House votes to suspend Syria refugee program. Yahoo News. 19 November 2015.
[30] Id.
[31] Personal interview with Anna. Taken November 17, 2015.
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Id.
[36] Id.
[37] “The sad odyssey of Alan Kurdi and his family: Their search for new life ended in death”. news.nationalpost.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
[38] Id.
[39] Id.
[40] Id.
[41] Charles Duhigg, “Depression, You Say? Check Those Safety Nets”, The New York Times, March 23, 2008.
[42] Id.
[43] Barry Eichengreen, Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession, and the Uses-and Misuses-of History (2014)
[44] Id.
[45] Davis, Bob (22 April 2009). “What’s a Global Recession?”. The Walstreet Journal. Retrieved October 15 2015.
[46] Id.
[47] “xenophobia – definition of xenophobia in English from the Oxford dictionary”. oxforddictionaries.com.
[48] J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
[49] Kruhly, M. (2012) Is American identity rooted in xenophobia?. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/is-american-identity-rooted-in-xenophobia/258507/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[50] Id.
[51] Walker, H. and Correspondent, N. (2015) Donald Trump has big plans for ‘radical Islamic’ terrorists, 2016 and ‘that communist’ Bernie Sanders. Available at: https://www.yahoo.com/politics/donald-trump-has-big-plans-1303117537878070.html (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[52] Id.
[53] History.com (1942) Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941. Available at: https://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl.htm (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[54] Roosevelt, Franklin (February 19, 1942). “Executive Order 9066”. U.S. National Archives & Records Administration.
[55] Id.
[56] immigration (no date) History lesson 5: U.S. Immigration policy and Hitler’s holocaust. Available at: https://crfimmigrationed.org/index.php/lessons-for-teachers/144-hl5 (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[57] Welsh, T. (2015) 8 facts about the U.S. Program to resettle Syrian refugees. Available at: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/20/8-facts-about-the-us-program-to-resettle-syrian-refugees (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[58] Id.
[59] FactC (2015) Facts about the Syrian refugees. Available at: https://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/facts-about-the-syrian-refugees/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[60] Thirty one governors refuse to accept Syrian refugees (2015) Available at: https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/11/21/exp-thirty-one-governors-refuse-to-accept-syrian-refugees.cnn (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[61] Available at: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-blasts-critical-policy-syrian-refugees-article-1.2436464 (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[62] Id.
[63] McCaul, M. (2015) Text – H.R.4038 – 114th congress (2015-2016): American SAFE act of 2015. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4038/text?format=xml (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[64] McCaul, M. (2015) Text – H.R.4038 – 114th congress (2015-2016): American SAFE act of 2015. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4038/text?format=xml (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[65] Proposed refugee admissions for fiscal year 2016 (no date) Available at: https://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/docsforcongress/247770.htm (Accessed: 23 November 2015).
[66] Id.
[67] Goldman, J. (2015) GOP candidates continue anti-muslim, refugee rhetoric. Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gop-candidates-continue-anti-muslim-refugee-rhetoric/ (Accessed: 24 November 2015).
[68] Lazarus, Emma, The New Colossus, Liberty State Park
[69] Id.
[70] James Neil Hollingworth writing as Redmoon, A. H., No Peaceful Warriors!
