Rhodnie Ochia

Should United States accept refugees without restrictions?

Many countries around the world have experienced terriying wars, human rights
abuses, destruction and violence that affected many innocent lives. Millions of people
are forced to fled their homes seeking safety wherever they can find it, in neighboring
communities, nearby countries, and often on new continents to escape from conflicts,
systematic descrimination, or other forms of persecution in their country. Among them
are refugees, many of whom are desperate to escape from fighting in places like Syria,
Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Refugees are protected by the International law and must
not go back to the situation where their lives and freedom are at risk. These people are
in need of assistance to flee widespread violence, human rights abuses and the
destruction. Many countries like Germany, Turkey,United Kingdom, Denmark and France
welcomed desperate refugees. There are also some counties that will impose limits on
refugees number like United States and Europe. The United States lifted depeartment's
restriction on the number of refugees(Harris 2017). Although some people maintain that
the United States should limit the number of refugees since these people negatively
impacts the economy and the society. I believe, that the United States should not limit
the number of refugees to save and improve their lives and the image of the United
States.

First of all, I believe that the United States should accept refugees without
number of restrictions to purposely save and improve the lives of the refugees. Millions
of refugees, half of them are children, have left everything behind to escape the
terrifying conflict, violence and persecution that have experienced in their country.Many
have experienced extreme physical and emotional distress, while some others most
especially the children are forced to stop their studies which will compromise their
futures. Providing their needs such as shelter, safety and critical needs would save
thousands of lives and improve the life prospects of millions more refugees. According to
Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Margot Wallstrom "We accept that every person has a
right to seek asylum.I think it's important that we signal being a community that rests on
common values of democracy and defense of human rights." It is important to help the
refugees by providing their needs while pushing for solutions to the crises that displaced
them and defending their rights to live with safety and worth.

America is perceived negatively abroad.When looking at negative aspect, many people

around the globe associate America with racism, arrogance, greediness and violence.
Negative views of the United States are generally strongest in the Middle East, Russia,
China, Europe, North Korea, Africa and most parts of Southeast Asia. By allowing millions
of desperate refugees will dramatically change how the world views America and this
would certainly improve the image of the United States. Moreover, accepting refugees
with no limit number restriction would definitely help form collective opinions overseas
of what America is like and why it matters in the world.

Nevertheless, some people maintain that the United States should limit the number of
refugees since these people negatively impacts the economy and the society. Although
they may be right to a certain extent, but the advantages still outweighs the
disadvantages.

A 2013 International Labor Organization survey of Syrian refugees in Lebanon found they
had a wide range of skills. Half of the workers were skilled or semi-skilled while the other
half were low-skilled workers in agricultural or personal services such as cleaning. Few
spoke English but lower-skilled jobs in the United States require more manual strength
than English ability.Citizens in Western governments don’t have a duty to help refugees
but we have a duty to stop hurting them. Our immigration restrictions are making a
humanitarian catastrophe even worse by preventing them from saving their own lives.
Let’s get out of the way and let them do that while empowering those among us to
voluntarily lend a helping hand.

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Alex Nowrasteh is an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global
Liberty and Prosperity. Follow @AlexNowrasteh

Many of them will earn low pay in America’s labor market – at least initially – but an
influx of lower-skilled workers could actually help Americans with less skill. The United
States does not have a fixed supply of jobs. By working in the United States and
consuming goods and services, more jobs will be created to supply them.
Citizens in Western governments don’t have a duty to help refugees but we have a duty
to stop hurting them. Our immigration restrictions are making a humanitarian
catastrophe even worse by preventing them from saving their own lives. Let’s get out of
the way and let them do that while empowering those among us to voluntarily lend a
helping hand. it’s time for America to focus on how our immigration policies can be
made more efficient, enabling the United States to take better advantage of all the
benefits immigration currently offers our society, and will no doubt continue to do so.