Refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. More than 11 million people in Syria have been killed or are currently being forced to leave their homes. Many are fleeing to Europe but some are also forced to flee into neighboring countries. The United States needs to step in and help those in need, who are searching for shelter and safety.

In November, President Obama proposed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. The House responded by voting in opposition to Obama’s proposal, easily passing a bill stalling the admittance of refugees from Syria and Iraq until the U.S security agencies prove that there are no risks associated with these refugees.

These people are not migrants looking to have an adventure in America and come just for a new experience; they are forced to leave their homes and unsafe environments. They are crying for help and searching for places to accept them, yet all we say is no because we don’t want terrorists in our country.

People in our country are terrified of the possibility of ISIS and other terrorists attacking our world and destroying our safety after recent attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and various other places around the world. However, denying the rights of the refugees turns more people away from the United States, and now these terrorist groups like ISIS have more people to recruit by taking the refugees to their side and teaching them how to fight. These terrorists that we are scared of, are going to come into our country one way or another eventually, and not allowing these refugees into the U.S isn’t going to make us any safer from them.

Taking into account, for example, the study of humanism (which studies individual worth in humans and discusses freedom and rights that humans inherently have) and the current stands of Americans regarding the acceptance of all lives mattering, we need to realize that we also have a moral obligation to these Syrians because they are humans just like us. Looking past our stereotypes of race, culture, and the different aspects of life in Syria is the first step to accepting the refugees not just as refugees but as people, friends, and allies.

I think that this decision the House made to deny the refugees just shows our fears to the world and they let the public know that we are selfish and will do anything to save our own lives rather than think of the lives of others. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, states that the U.S should deny the refugees if the country wants its citizens to be safe.

BREAKING: Texas will not accept any Syrian refugees & I demand the U.S. act similarly. Security comes first. https://t.co/uE34eluXYd

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 16, 2015

“We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic,” President Obama said while in the Philippines. “We don’t make good decisions if it’s based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks.”

It will be rare that the refugees coming into America will be terrorists. If anyone wants to enter our country, especially refugees, then they have to go through many series of check-ups and security tests to enter.

“Of all the categories of persons entering the U.S., these refugees are the single most heavily screened and vetted,” says Jana Mason, a senior adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Of the 784,000 refugees admitted to the United States since 9/11, only three have been arrested for planning terrorist activities, none of which have actually resulted in attacks on our country.

It takes a lot of effort for Syrians to seek safety in our country, and the chance that one of them will be a terrorist is extremely low. Evidently, as Americans we should be looking at the facts about how many refugees are actually committing terrorist attacks compared the amount of shootings and killings that are already happening in America, by Americans.

As a country we are blaming and objectifying Muslims and other world religions just because one or two members of their population have committed a violent act. This issue is continuing on after Donald Trump, a republican front-runner in the 2016 presidential election, stated that he wanted to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Trump is trying to turn the citizens of our country against each other, and the fact that he has supporters agreeing with these views shows how racist and non accepting our country has become.  

What is your opinion on the issue of accepting refugees into the United States? Make sure to leave a comment below. 
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