Of all the reactions to Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, some U.S. politicians’ objections to resettling Syrian refugees might be the most irrational. President Barack Obama pledged to let in 10,000 people fleeing the carnage in Syria, but governors of
Of all the reactions to Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, some U.S. politicians’ objections to resettling Syrian refugees might be the most irrational. President Barack Obama pledged to let in 10,000 people fleeing the carnage in Syria, but governors of at least a dozen states now say they won’t accept any. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz wants to admit only Christians. …
But the American system for harboring people fleeing war and repression is different from that of Europe, which is struggling with a flood of refugees turning up in boats on its shores. …
Getting permission for refuge in the U.S. takes 18 months to two years. For a displaced Syrian, it usually starts with an application to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and ends with in-person interviews at refugee camps and what the State Department describes as its highest-level security checks for people entering the country.
The process is restrictive and expensive. Last year, the U.S. spent more than $1 billion on the effort, or about $16,000 per person.
Even if refugee numbers pick up, as Obama requested, the program will remain carefully cumbersome. It never will be an easy or sure way for Islamic State to place agents in the U.S.
Americans should weigh that unlikely concern against the suffering of refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey — themselves victims of the Islamic State. They’ve lost their homes and seen loved ones die. And in the camps, rape and extortion are widespread. As the crisis wears on, overwhelmed host states are becoming less generous.
It’s this deteriorating situation that should most alarm the West. If the legal pipeline is closed, more refugees will turn to human-smuggling networks or succumb to Islamic State recruitment efforts. The best way to protect uprooted Syrians will be to end the war in Syria. In the meantime, refusing to help the refugees betrays American ideals, and only can increase the extremists’ appeal.
— Bloomberg View
