America Has Welcomed Close To 30,000 Muslim Refugees This Fiscal Year
Thursday, August 18, 2016
By Carol Kuruvilla
Syrian refugee Ahmad al-Abboud, center, waits with his family at the International Airport of Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, April 6, 2016. The first Syrian family to be resettled to the U.S. under its speeded-up "surge operation” departed to the United States Wednesday from the Jordanian capital, Amman. Al-Abboud, who is being resettled with his wife and five children, said that although he is thankful to Jordan — where he has lived for three years after fleeing Syria’s civil war — he is hopeful of finding a better life in te U.S. PHOTO/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of State Department data, America has received 28,957 Muslim refugees since Oct.
Most of these new arrivals came from Syria (8,511) and Somalia (7,234), two countries with predominantly Muslim populations that have been ripped apart by civil war. Others came from Iraq (6,071), Burma (Myanmar) (2,554), Afghanistan (1,948) and other countries (2,639).
Faith communities from multiple religions have regularly spoken up as advocates for refugees. At least six faith-based organizations, from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, work closely with the government to help refugees resettle and adjust to living in the United States.
Jen Smyers is a Director of Policy and Advocacy for Church World Service, a multi-denominational, faith-based agency that has traditionally assisted stateside in the resettlement of around 10 percent of refugees entering America every year. Smyers told The Huffington Post that in
In this Jan. 8, 2016 photo, local
Smyers said that her organization always sees an uptick in the arrival of people from particular religions and nationalities when that group is facing violence and persecution in their home countries.
"As people of faith, we believe in the call to assist
Despite the fact that all refugees entering the country undergo a rigorous screening process that takes 18 and 24 months (and sometimes, even longer) some lawmakers have suggested enforcing a religious or nationality test for Syrian and other Middle East refugees. Many of the nation’s
Syrian refugee children play as they wait with their families to register their information at the U.S. processing
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Muslim migrants to the United States. On Monday, he proposed administering an ideological litmus test to Muslim visitors and migrants to the country.
Smyers said that is was critical, especially for religious minorities in the Middle East, that the U.S. not discriminate against people for their religious affiliation. Refugees of all faiths should be welcomed, she said, since discrimination could have drastic negative effects on the ways that religious minorities are treated in their countries of origin and host countries. Welcoming refugees of all faiths also "works against the talking points of extremists who would say that the U.S. does not care about the Arab or Muslim world.”
"Any notion of exclusion based on someone’s belief, stands in opposition to basic American values, and only serves to heap undue condemnation on those that have already been persecuted for their faith,” Smyers told HuffPost. "To put anyone through a religious litmus test would not only be discrimination and thus illegal, but un-American.
America Has Welcomed Close To 30,000 Muslim Refugees This Fiscal Year
Thursday, August 18, 2016 By Carol Kuruvilla May we continue to welcome the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.