Dear Editor:
Some 4 million people have fled from Syria out of fear of being barrel-bombed by the Assad regime or beheaded by ISIS. Most of these people live in refugee camps in neighboring countries - Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Several hundred thousand have fled to Europe.
President Obama has proposed that the U.S. accept 10,000 refugees. This would address a very, very small part of the problem, yet Republican presidential candidates and many state governors oppose even this small step.
This country, the land of the free and home of the brave, has historically offered a welcome to people fleeing persecution. Are we now to abandon this principle out of fear? Former Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black once observed that "this country was not built by men who were afraid and it will not be preserved by such men."
The basis for fear is not even that great, for two reasons. One, the number of refugees we are proposing to take is very small, and second, the screening process is very thorough. Ryan Crocker, dean of the George Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University and former ambassador to Iraq and Syria, said: "This is not an unmanageable security risk .... The U.S.'s vigorous screening process involves vetting from multiple security agencies.
Refugees are also interviewed abroad by officers from the Department of Homeland Security before they are approved for resettlement. No population entering the U.S. is more closely examined than refugees." (Wall Street Journal, 11/18/15)
The risk is small, yet fear is driving many Americans to forget our traditions and principles. We welcomed more than a million Vietnamese refugees. Are we going to turn our backs on 10,000 refugees from Syria?
If we are afraid to stand up for our traditions, after all we are a country founded and built by immigrants, we will no longer be the home of the brave.
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