Recently, a major US-Mexico border was closed after a group of five hundred migrants overwhelmed patrol on the border. The United States authorities responded to the chaos by throwing tear gas, a chemical weapon that causes severe eye and respiratory pain, skin irritation, bleeding, and sometimes blindness to disperse the migrants. The tear gas sent families, some with young children, running in fear.
Each year, thousands of non-citizens seek asylum in the United States. The requirements for asylum are that the person cannot return home safely because of persecution of race, religion, nationality, member of social group, or political opinion. The United States has a duty to help these people seeking protection, “as a signatory to the 1967 Protocol, and through U.S. immigration law, the United States has legal obligations to provide protection to those who qualify as refugees…either from abroad as a resettled refugee or in the United States as an asylum seeker” (American Immigration Council). However, the United States is not upholding its legal obligations to many refugees seeking asylum.
Embedded on the Statue of Liberty is a poem by Emma Lazarus called “The New Colossus.” The poem describes the United States as the land of the free where all are welcome, “‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”’ (Lazarus). The poem depicts the United States as a land welcoming of all immigrants in need.
The poem on the Statue of Liberty states an important ideal that the country should maintain. Instead of removing it from the statue, the United States should embrace this important philosophy. Historically, the United States was a place that welcomed refugees and provided homes to people in desperate need. Today, we close our borders and deny entry to those seeking asylum in contradiction to the words written on the Statue of Liberty. We have gone so far to use acts of violence such as throwing tear gas to stop refugees from crossing our borders. The poem should not be stricken from the statue because doing so would symbolize the end of United States as the land of the free. Instead, we need to keep the poem as a reminder of the high ideals that the United States was founded upon. Why would we change our values now when there is so much violence and atrocities occurring around the world. Innocent people who were born in an unfortunate situation desperately need our help. The United States should open its arms to provide these people with better opportunities and safe living.
One country that has a tremendous amount of refugees fleeing is Afghanistan. Currently, there are almost 2.5 million registered refugees from Afghanistan (UNHCR). These refugees face harsh conditions that no one should experience. Many refugees report anxiety, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and trauma from the events they undergo. Furthermore, the available refugee camps provide a poor living standard. In refugee camps, the Afghan refugees face malnutrition which allows for disease to spread easily amongst refugees. There is always a shortage of food and clean water. The shortage of supplies leads to fighting amongst refugees in each camp. During the cold winter months, refugees have little to keep them warm. There is human waste everywhere and no proper sewage systems. Aid to these refugee camps is extremely limited and necessary medical supplies and attention are not provided to suffering refugees.
It is disappointing to hear that innocent refugees who have no place to go and cannot receive the help they need are rejected entrance into the United States. According to Absent Afghans, “health conditions within refugee camps are simply inhumane” (Absent Afghans), however, there are no other options for these refugees. They cannot return to their homeland because of the violent acts of the Taliban. Only refugee camps provide a home to Afghan refugees, but this home is “simply inhumane.”
During Donald Trump’s administration, the number of refugees allowed into the United States became “the most restrictive limit the United States has set in the 70-year history of refugee resettlement” (Lind). The Trump administration declared that no more than 45,000 refugees will be accepted into the United States during this current fiscal year which began on October 1, 2018. This amount of refugees “is less than half the total of the last years of the Obama administration when the government set its refugee “ceiling” to at least 100,000 refugees in the last two years” (Lind). The Trump administration has indicated that it would like to slash these numbers in the future. This new restrictive refugee policy shows that “the US is rejecting the very idea of a “global refugee crisis” — instead taking it for granted that countries have a responsibility for the lives of their citizens, and that if those countries have failed, people who are similar to the displaced citizens ought to step up to help” (Lind).
Refugees around the world face atrocities both from their own countries and refugee camps. However, the United States is refusing to assist these refugees in need. While most people in the United States appreciate the plight of the refugees, the United States chooses to remain on the sidelines when providing a sanctuary to these refugees. It is time that we fulfill our responsibilities as a country by providing help for the poor, the weak, the homeless, and the tired. The poem, “The New Colossus” serves as a reminder of the lofty aspirations of the United States and should never be removed from the Statue of Liberty.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/us/san-ysidro-port-of-entry-closed/index.html
Works Cited
Grinberg, Emanuella, and Mariano Castillo. “US Authorities Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Migrants at Border.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Nov. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/us/san-ysidro-port-of-entry-closed/index.html. Accessed Dec. 11, 2018.
“Asylum in the United States.” American Immigration Council, 27 Nov. 2018, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/asylum-united-states. Accessed Dec. 11, 2018.
“Life Within Refugee Camps – Absent Afghans.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/absentafghans/life-within-refugee-camps. Accessed Dec. 11, 2018.
Lind, Dara. “The Trump Administration Doesn’t Believe in the Global Refugee Crisis.” Vox.com, Vox Media, 4 Dec. 2017, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/3/16379016/trump-refugees. Accessed Dec. 11, 2018.
United Nations. “Afghanistan.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/en-us/afghanistan.html. Accessed Dec. 11, 2018.
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