Something silly in: Thoughts for Giving Tuesday: Refugees Welcome

When I saw the BBC headline yesterday that the Ohio State attacker was a refugee, my heart sunk. We’ve seen the anti-refugee backlash – after the Paris attacks, and after San Bernadino. As soon as I saw the headline about the attacker’s background, I felt frustrated in anticipation of the sentiments and story lines that will inevitably flood airwaves in the coming days and weeks. It breaks my heart but also makes me livid, because I know the lies and fear that undergird this anti-refugee rhetoric that will surely come.

Since it’s Giving Tuesday and the holiday season – I just wanted to take a few minutes to pound out this blog post and reiterate why it’s imperative that we don’t respond with fear and withdrawal in light of the revelations about the Ohio State attacker.

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We’re going to hear politicians, including our President-elect, use the example of this attacker to promulgate anti-refugee sentiment and fear. But let’s remember that refugees are thoroughly vetted. They receive the greatest level of screening of any group that moves to the United States. Refugees undergo screening by the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, Department of Defense, and the Department of State. They have interviews with the Department of Homeland Security and undergo subsequent biometric security checks. (More details on that process can be found here and here.)

Let’s remember that the US has resettled 3 million refugees since the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980. Aside from this isolated instance and the arrest of two Iraqis in Kentucky, no other refugee has been arrested or convicted on terrorist charges. (Source) As The Economist article states clearly, refugee resettlement is the least likely route for potential terrorists.

(The debating part of my subconscious would also like to make the oft-cited point here, that when our nation has experienced countless mass-shootings, generally at the hands of loner, white males, that zero action is taken to target this demographic. Calls are made to ‘shore up mental health services’ and/or improve gun control measures, but we don’t decry this demographic or slight low-and-middle income white men.)

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Let’s remember that the US refugee resettlement program focuses on helping the most vulnerable. We bring in widows and orphans. Refugees with medical needs that can’t be treated elsewhere have their cases prioritized. Our resettlement program focuses on family reunification. Resttlement of Afghani and Iraqi families gives priority to those who aided the US government (and includes many who would have been targeted were they not resettled). Resettlement services have strong acculturation and work-based components. Having worked in the field, I firmly believe the program is rooted in all the best parts of our American identity.

Additionally, as a Christian I want to remind those who ascribe to Christianity that this season is all about a couple, who was forced to flee their home and take refuge in a foreign land in order to protect their newborn son. Please don’t miss that stark contrast you make if you give into fear and support voices to close the door on the vulnerable during this holiday season.

Beyond a Christian moral imperative, let’s not ignore the humanity of refugees around the globe. I shouldn’t have to plead to my Christian brothers and sisters to continue welcoming Somali, Syrian, and countless other refugees out of a Christian moral imperative. I hope you will think of what you would want to have done for your son or daughter, mother or father, sibling, closest friend, if the roles were reversed.

I understand the counterpoint -- the impulse to want to protect your children and country. However, I

think that impulse is stoked by politicians who are selling a false narrative (lack of security in the process) for political gain. We don't have to (and are not) diminshing our security in exchange for opening our doors to the most vulnerable.

I firmly believe in the safety security, and vetting process woven through every facet of the US refugee resettlement process. Refugees pose no greater threat to our nation than do other, fellow citizens. (See the facts/figures above and here.)

Don’t let politicians deceive you with spurious threats of ISIS lying in wait, cloaked as refugees trying to sneak their way into our country via a weakly guarded resettlement process here in the US. This is unfounded and untrue.

I implore that on this Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting refugee resettlement agencies. Or at minimum, please don’t give in to the anti-refugee rhetoric that will be circulating in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. Speak out, and speak LOUDLY.