The arguments for and against Syrian refugees in the U.S.

The immigration of Syrian refugees to the U.S. is undoubtedly a hot topic right now and as someone who comes from a political family, it was no surprise that the topic came up a couple times during my winter break.

I heard theories about why the U.S. is taking refugees that ranged from a very drunk, conservative man telling me that the only reason Syrians are being let in is so the Mormons can baptize more people into their church, to a friend informing me that it is only Syrian men that are coming to the U.S. and they are all secretly planning on killing us for ISIS.

After doing a bit of research though, the facts told me a very different story: 67 percent of refugees are women and children under the age of 12, according to State Department data. Nongovernmental agencies, such as World Relief and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, place the refugees — not the government — and those decisions are based on family ties, employment and other factors. By law, the administration can admit slightly more than 10,000 refugees in fiscal year 2016, and no refugee commitments can be made beyond that. Also, only three percent of the Syrian refugees are Christian while 93 percent are Sunni Muslim which may make it a bit more difficult for the LDS church to baptize them.

With these facts in mind, I say why not let Syrian refugees in? These people need help and the U.S. has the means to provide it.

However, I can sympathize with those who don’t want the refugees in the U.S. as well. The risk of just one of those refugees being a member of ISIS is not an imaginary one. The devastation that a single member of ISIS can inflict has already proven to be catastrophic; just ask France.

France, though, is still allowing refugees into their country; 30,000 Syrian refugees over the next two years are being allowed into France according to the Washington Post. If France is willing to still allow refugees into their country after everything their citizens have been through then the US has no excuse for denying the refugees into their own country.

Our economy is growing stronger, we have the space and the unemployment rate is shrinking. Besides, these people honestly need help, or have we all so quickly forgotten the picture of the three-year-old boy who washed up on the shores of Turkey only four months ago? Continuing to stand by and watch as hundreds of thousands of people suffer is cruel, especially when the U.S. has the means to help them. If the U.S. wants to continue to be considered a humane country, allowing Syrian refugees into the US is not an option, it is a necessity.

—shaniehoward214@gmail.com