A PLACE TO CALL HOME:

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

By: Elissa Tutupoly

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Elissa Tutupoly

A Place to Call Home: The Syrian Refugee Crisis

William Jessup University

15 April 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Origin of the Crisis:

History of the Syrian Civil War

On Syrian Soil

Definition of Refugee

The Problem:

Fear: Perceived Threat vs. Real Threat:

9/11

Boston Marathon Bombers

November Paris Bombings

Male Refugee Statistics

FBI Director Commentary & San Bernardino Shooting

The Importance of Resettlement:

Overview of the Resettlement Process

Community Resources

Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)

The Economic Concern

Breeding Terrorism

Policy Recommendations:

Private Sponsorships & Follow-Up Security

Biblical Perspective:

Biblical Justice, Dual Citizenship, Matthew 25

Conclusion

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ABSTRACT

As the world’s leading power, the international community looks to the United States of

America to respond to a very pressing issue: The Syrian refugee crisis. It is a crucial and

complex issue because it is the worst refugee influx the world has seen since World War II and

the U.S. has played a vital role in it’s humanitarian aid. The media has displayed terrorism

headlines all over the news and U.S. society, illuminating the question of whether or not the

threat and fear are as prevailing as they are portrayed. Thus, two extremes have emerged from

the political spectrum: allow all refugees to enter and aid their needs, or shut down the entire

refugee admittance program within the U.S. for security purposes. Policy issues as complex as

this must avoid both extremes and seek a compromise. This compromise can only be attained

when the problems of both aid and security are properly addressed. While the U.S. has a global

duty to care for the most vulnerable people in the world, national security remains a valid

concern. This research analysis seeks to clarify the perceived and real threat of terrorism

depicted by the media, analyze the importance of resettlement, recommend a proactive solution

for security measures, and provide a biblical perspective in light of the Syrian refugee crisis.

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A Place to Call Home: The Syrian Refugee Crisis

THE WORLD LOOKS TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

In a time of crisis and endless change, there must be a balance between protecting the

human rights of refugees, as the U.S ratified in the Universal Human Rights Declaration

(UHRD) of 1948, and protecting the U.S. from terrorism. With the expectation of 10,000 Syrian

refugees in 2016 and global terrorism raging, any immense corrective policy changes cannot

happen overnight. Americans must direct their fears toward facts and focus on aiding the greatest

refugee crisis since World War II. Syrian refugees must be assured of their global right to refuge,

as affirmed in the UHRD, but there must also be proactive steps taken towards strengthening the

security of the United States. In addition, Christians have a biblical mandate to care for strangers

and foreigners, and must not forget that Christ was one as well. While many concerns arise over

the crisis, the fact still remains, refugees are here and they will continue to come.

THE ORIGIN OF THE CRISIS:

History of the Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 under the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad, who

succeeded his father as the president of Syria in 2000. Prior to his presidency, his father, Hafez

al-Assad instituted the dominance of the socialist Ba’ath party, created a new legislative body

and constitution, and he provided the political stability that Syria did not have before his

administration. His son Bashar al-Assad would inherit the administration after his death in the

year 2000, and he continued the party’s dominance and authoritarian rule. While citizens needed

the political stability, they were troubled with extreme laws such as being arrested without cause

or reason. Bashar al-Assad enacted legislation that established the Baath Party’s power in Syria

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“as the leader of state and society” (BBC, October 2015). The legalization of this party solidified

his extremist rule and it produced more unrest among the Syrian Arab Republic. Citizens were

pleased during his inaugural address because he promised changes within the government, but

those statements did not last very long (BBC, October 2015).

In March 2011, schoolchildren were tortured and arrested for writing anti-government

graffiti on a wall. This non-violent protest marked the start of progressing protests and gave rise

to the demands for political reform in Syria. The Assad government made every effort to shut

down the demonstrations through merciless violence and arrests. By June 2011, 1,400 Syrians

were killed and more than 10,000 were arrested (Davis & Alchukr, 2014). Public torture and

killing increased so that the government could halt protests and demonstrations. As neighboring

countries would obtain political reform, Syrian citizens were encouraged to rally and speak out

against the government. The increase of these protests would escalate the violence from the

government to its’ citizens.

In addition to public killings and torture, homes were burned, and cities were barrel

bombed by the government. These bombs are typically barrels filled with a combination of

explosives, metals, or deadly chemicals. The State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said that

“The Assad regime inflicts daily terror on the Syrian people with barrel bombs, which have

killed an estimated 12,000 people, mainly civilians” (SNHR, March 2015). By the end of 2012

alone, the death toll exceeded 60,000 (BBC, October 2015). Families have lost their homes and

belongings, but more importantly, they have lost and continue to lose family members. Whether

it be from violence or fleeing from persecution, families are fighting daily to stay alive. Over 4

million Syrians were driven into other countries and over 12 million are in need of humanitarian

assistance (Blanchard, Humund, Nikitin, 2015). This is equivalent to more than half of Syria’s

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population that are seeking a refuge or asylum in other countries, all while Assad continuously

attempts to block humanitarian aid from entering into Syria.

With so much chaos and corruption, Assad has paved a way for al-Qaeda to step in and

conduct about 600 attacks in Syria, allowing them to seize control over certain parts of Syria.

This causes more innocent lives to be taken every day, including countless children. In addition,

the war paved a way for ISIS to infiltrate large locations in Syria, giving them control of over 10

million people (BBC, March 2016). ISIS is growing and attacking both Assad’s military and the

rebel groups. They saw the vulnerability of Syria and its people, and they have taken complete

advantage of it. If the Assad regime falls, as the government forces and rebel groups fight each

other, ISIS has every intention to take over the government. They are already progressing

towards bordering countries, and this will expand the group’s territory even more. The worst part

is that it makes it easier to recruit families and groups into ISIS. The neighboring countries that

have refugee camps in place will become breeding grounds for terrorist recruitment. These

camps offer very little for families, which is a liability ISIS will continue to exploit (Milton,

Spencer, Findley, 2013). With refugees spilling over into neighboring countries, the fear of

growing terrorism is already happening in the Middle East.

On Syrian Soil

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is the United Nations’ major and most

reliable resource for tracking death tolls and how they occur. They have 27 researchers and

activists within Syria and neighboring countries, and they have collected and continue to collect

reliable research and data. SNHR is a non-ideological, nongovernmental, non-profit who seeks to

protect victim’s rights and defend the Syrian’s human rights as declared in the UN documents

and conventions (SNHR, 2015). They are an independent human rights organization who will

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ensure that anyone who took part in this violence will be held accountable for the crimes they

committed (SNHR, 2015).

SNHR has documented as many deaths as they possibly can and by whom they were

killed if they can track it; this includes airstrikes, barrel bombs, shootings, and raids. They are

able to document these deaths through field investigations and eye witnesses to these tragedies.

With about eight strong parties taking part in the Syrian war, SNHR has documented 21,179

deaths in 2015 with approximately 16,000 being caused by the Assad regime: 2592 children and

1957 women (SNHR, 2015).

In addition to barrel bombing cities, stores, mosques and hospitals, the government has

performed raids that result in the arrest and torture of civilians. These raids lead to the

imprisonment and rape of women, and the sexual violence escalates if the government needs to

obtain information. Some women are forced to marry into the militia in order to protect their

families, and more importantly their children, from being killed. Mosques are targets for

destruction or are seized to hold shelling artillery, which contains explosives to use for attacks.

Hospitals and doctors are also targets, in order to prevent medical aid. These are just a few

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reasons as to why families choose to risk their lives fleeing Syria, instead of witnessing their

families being tortured or killed. This constant persecution imposed by the military forces

Syrians to flee and become refugee families.

Definition of Refugee

The universal principle of having the right to refuge was documented by the United

Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Article 14 stands as the

universal principle of a person having the right to refuge in other countries when they are fleeing

persecution. It was the universal statement for refugee crises back then, and that were to come in

the future. It would be the start of the advancement of international human rights law. It was the

first universal statement made where 58 countries came together to form an international bill of

rights, protecting the indisputable human rights for all of humanity. Right from the beginning,

the preamble of the UDHR states: “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal

and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice

and peace in the world...” (Department of State, 1948). This was intended to protect a person’s

freedom and dignity from global corruption and chaos, and the 1951 Refugee Convention would

solidify the protection and safety of refugees. The original intent of The Convention1, was to

protect those fleeing from the persecution of World War II, but the 1967 Protocol would remove

the time boundary from before 1951, to anyone present day in need of refuge according to the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ definition.

The requirement for defining the term refugee, domestically and abroad, was clearly seen

through the millions of people who sought refuge or were displaced from their homes during

World War II. In the U.S, The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 was one of the first pieces of

1“TheConvention”isalegaldocument

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legislation allowing a certain number of refugees to enter the U.S. Originally, these laws were

intended for refugees fleeing from communist countries or Middle Eastern countries only, in

addition to European countries. Until amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act of

1952 were made in 1965 (Cozic, p. 57), refugees would not be recognized legally in the U.S.

The definition of a refugee would change through The Refugee Act of 1980, allowing refugees

into the U.S that are fleeing from fear of persecution. This act standardized the services given to

refugees while they are being resettled, and it legalized the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

This act regulated how many refugees the U.S. would take in, the asylum policy, and it took off

the boundaries of where a refugee originated from.

The foundation of Immigration Law would come from The Immigration and Nationality

Act (INA). It is an Act that is a part of the United States Code (U.S.C), which are enforced U.S.

laws or “codes” (Department of State, 1945-1952). The INA carries amendments related to

refugees and any improvements or adjustments to immigration laws are usually a part of this act.

All of these acts and documents provide a key factor into the foundation of defining a refugee

and the services provided for them.

THE PROBLEM

The policy issue that results from the Syrian refugee crisis is how the U.S. is to

respond to the need for the resettlement of refugees. Ten thousand Syrian refugees are expected

to enter the U.S. in 2016, and outbursts occur for and against resettlement. There is a need to aid

refugees through resettlement, but there also exists a need to further protect national security.

Security measures can be reformed, but denying the acceptance of refugees for resettlement is an

extreme to which this nation cannot adhere. Terrorism is surely a highlighted concern, and so are

the most vulnerable lives in the world that are in need of aid. Security remains vital to the

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resettlement of refugees, but the media does not publicize the resettlement process. Instead, they

feed the fear of terror by connecting refugees to terrorism in any way possible. There are many

stories on the news that exemplify how the media fuels this fear. In order to better understand the

crisis, there must be a separation between the facts and fears of terrorism that exist domestically

and abroad.

Fear: Perceived Threat vs. Real Threat

After 9/11, the concept of refugees became an uncomfortable subject and many citizens

saw refugees as threats or terrorists rather than some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

Although the 9/11 attack were not caused by refugees, the wound and scar of terrorism created

bias among the American people. Using 9/11 as an example to keep refugees out of the U.S.

must be proven false with the simple fact that the terrorists were not refugees. Of the 784,000

refugees resettled in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks, only three have been convicted of planning

terrorist activity (Migration Policy, 2015). Two had plans of aiding terrorism abroad through

funding al-Qaeda, and one had plans of aiding an Islamist group in Uzbekistan, which had

potential attacks on the U.S. that were deemed not credible (Newland, 2015). American citizens

should have confidence in its’ Intelligence Security, because all three are in prison and one has a

life sentence. This also speaks to the rarity of such events because, over the past 30 years alone,

the United States has resettled over 3 million refugees (Ross, 2015).

Another connection between refugees and terrorism is the Boston Marathon bombings.

While fear of terrorism is valid, they were children of an asylee and received their derivative

status through their father at about the age of ten (Huffington Post, 2015). A refugee and an

asylum seeker must both fit under the legal definition of a refugee, but an asylum seeker is a

person who is already in the U.S. or at its’ port of entry when applying for asylum. The screening

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process is different than what the Syrian refugees undergo for resettlement, but their status

remains the same. In addition, the father has not engaged in any terrorist activities, so this case

cannot prove whether or not terrorism was homegrown for the Tsarnaev brothers.

The November 2015 Paris bombings is another concern that the media has stressed and

that has caused a global outrage on terrorism. One attacker left behind a Syrian passport and this

negatively connected Syrian refugees to terrorism. The name on the Syrian passport was the

name of a man who had passed away months before (BBC, January 2016). When tracking the

passport back to Greece, Serbian officials found another man with the same name and

information on his passport, arrested him, and concluded that both men went through the same

forgery process (BBC, January 2016). Some research suggests that this was purposely done to

make the West fear resettling Syrian refugees. They are regarded as traitors to ISIS because they

are fleeing from the Islamic religion ISIS holds. In September 2015 and ISIS video stated, “It is

correct for Muslims to leave the lands of the infidel for the lands of Islam, but not vice versa…2”

(Zelin, 2015). Syrian refugees are considered to have abandoned the Islamic religion because

living under the caliphate should be considered a refuge for them. ISIS also views fleeing to

Europe as humiliating, and they believe that non-Muslim countries will force Muslims to convert

in order to stay in the countries that they seek refuge.

Another big issue is the rapes occurring in Europe that is happening by a high number of

male Syrian refugees. While the threat does exist, U.S. citizens must understand that Europe has

open borders--which causes vetting to be extremely hard for them. As the influx worsens on their

lands, there is not an efficient and effective way for them to control the inflow of refugees. The

2Retrievedfrom:HuffingtonPost,David,Bier-November2015

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U.S not only has a geographical advantage, but it also considers refugees for resettlement under

three priorities:

• “Priority 1: Cases that are identified and referred to the program by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a United States Embassy, or a designated non-governmental organization (NGO).

• Priority 2: Groups of special humanitarian concern identified by the U.S. refugee program.

• Priority 3: Family reunification cases (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of persons lawfully admitted to the United States as refugees or asylees or permanent residents (green card holders) or U.S. citizens who previously had refugee or asylum status)” (USCIS, 2015).

Of the three priorities most of the resettled refugees in the U.S. have been women, children, and

victims of torture. The U.S. takes in the most vulnerable of refugees that must first be referred to

them through the United Nations. This is one of many steps before being considered for

resettlement in the U.S. and it is a vetting process that Europe does not have. According to the

U.S. Department of State, in the last fiscal year 1,682 Syrian refugees have been admitted and

resettled: “Roughly 77% of them were women and children. Only 23% were adult men” (U.S.

Department of State, 2015)3. Many Syrian women are victims of torture, violence, or rape, and

many children have lost access to education and have traumatic memories that they witnessed.

Another concern that needs to be addressed is a statement that the FBI Director made

about refugees being vetted and how the screening process they undergo is fallible. While it is a

fact that the screening process cannot guarantee validity for every refugee, it is constantly being

reviewed and strengthened to be effective. As previously noted, there have only been three

refugees who are now in prison for being a part of terrorist activities abroad. Compared to the

784,000 refugees that have been accepted since 9/11 and six years’ worth of technological

advancement since the three refugees were arrested, the U.S. screening process is still considered

3Formoreinformation,see:MythsandFacts:ResettlingSyrianRefugees

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the most rigorous vetting process in the world. If fallibility is of severe concern, Immigration

Lawyer Scott Hicks states: “then you better shut down the entire airline industry, close the

borders, and stop all international commerce and shipping” (Hicks, 2015). Since all of these

places are entry ways, then they must also be considered for elimination due to fallibility. The

hijackers from 9/11 had student or tourist visas, which are easier and quicker to obtain than the

status of a refugee. In fact, all terrorist attacks carried out in the U.S. have been carried out by

non-refugees (Hampson, 2015). The San Bernardino shooting in California was also committed

by a non-refugee. Tashfeen Malik, the wife of Syed Rizwan Farook, came to the U.S through a

K-1 fiancé waivered visa (Office of the Press Secretary, 2015), a completely different vetting

process than the one refugees undertake. This is why it is important to separate facts from fears

and realize the importance for resettling the most vulnerable population in the world.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RESETTLEMENT

Without the hope of resettlement, refugees will turn to extremist groups, such as ISIS or

al-Qaeda, for help. Denying resettlement will breed terrorism and give ISIS the advantage of

spreading into neighboring countries; something that the U.S. is trying to avoid. Any major

corrective policy measure cannot happen immediately, but certain security measures can be

taken after refugees are resettled into their new communities. Resettlement is crucial for aiding

the refugee crisis as a whole, but in order to comprehend the need for policy recommendations,

the resettlement process must first be understood.

Overview of the Resettlement Process

The U.S Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is the current U.S. resettlement program

for refugees. The Department of State (DOS) helps the President determine the admissions

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ceiling and refugees may not be admitted into the fiscal year until the President has signed off on

a ceiling number. Then, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) briefs

the Department of State on the current refugee situation and refers cases to them. The

Resettlement Support Center, an office within the DOS, then handles the administration,

documentation, and review the information for each refugee case. Before a refugee is admitted

into the U.S, they must go through a screening process.

The screening process begins with refugees registering with The UNHCR. In order to

identify the refugee, the UNHCR must retrieve their documents, execute the initial assessment of

collecting their biodata, and biometrics must be collected for Syrian refugees. The UNHCR then

verifies all of the information through a preliminary interview, questionnaires, and then an

interrogative-styled interview. At this point, “Only applicants who are strong candidates for

resettlement move forward (less than 1% of global refugee population)” (Pope, 2015). A referral

is then sent to the U.S. for resettlement and then the next set of security checks start.

The Resettlement Support Center collects all of this information to create the refugee’s

file for the next step, biometric security checks. This screening goes through the FBI, the

Department of Homeland Security, National Counterterrorism Center/Intelligence, and the State

Department. An extra review can be made for Syrian refugees, which would go through United

States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security

Directorate. Refugees are then interviewed by Homeland Security, and their fingerprints are

screened against the biometric databases of The Department of Homeland Security, The Federal

Bureau of Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Before refugees travel to the U.S.

a medical screening is done, and once they arrive there are multi-agency security checks that are

done again, in addition to airport security checks. The resettlement agencies help determine the

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best location for refugees, and if they have family in a specific location, they are usually settled

near them. The nine organizations that resettle refugees are non-profit, non-governmental

organizations, and five out of nine are Christian organizations. The list of organizations are:

• Church World Service (CWS) • Ethiopian Community Development

Council (ECDC), • Episcopal Migration Ministries

(EMM), • Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

(HIAS), • International Rescue Committee

(IRC)

• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)

• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

• World Relief Corporation (WR).

After arriving in the U.S., an application for a green card is required within a year, which means

they will have to go through another set of security. Some refugees have the intentions of

returning home, while for others, that is not an option. Therefore, they must go through with the

naturalization process.

Community Resources

The Department of State has recognized that the nine resettlement agencies have the

knowledge and resources to best resettle refugees (Department of State, 2015). Each agency

signs a cooperative agreement with the state, stating the logistics of their agreement and budget.

Between the accessible community resources and the needs of the refugee, the organization will

take a case and resettle refugees into their new homes. The greatest goal of the DOS and of the

resettlement agency is that the refugee and their family would become self-sufficient as soon as

possible.

The U.S. has a public-private type of sponsorship in place for refugee resettlement. While

the government has resettlement funds in place, a big portion of the finances come from private

groups and their sponsorship. The Department of State provides a Reception and Replacement

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program which provides financial assistance to refugees for three months, and that usually covers

food, rent, and clothing. Each agency receives $1,975 for each refugee case that they take to

resettle (Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, 2015). The resettlement organizations

prioritize teaching the families English, cultural and location orientation, and finding

employment. It includes showing them main landmarks, such as the grocery store, to gain a sense

of direction for their new community. The cultural home life is also different than in Syria, so

parents must be educated on the laws of child and family welfare. They must also be taught

about the roads, stop signs, crosswalks, and how to be citizens of their communities. Families

can hopefully become accustomed to where they live and how to get to and from their homes and

into the cities and communities they live in. The need for volunteers is crucial to orienting

families to their communities and helping them become accustomed to a new society.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a part of the U.S. Department of Health

and Human resources and they are also important in refugee assistance. In the fiscal year of 2016,

they created six guiding principles which serve to strengthen the services they have in place. The

six principles are: appropriate placement and services, client-centered case management, newly

arriving refugees, health and mental health services, outreach, and data informed decision-

making (Office of Refugee Resettlement, 2015). These six approaches help refugees access

many resources that they need in order to resettle as effectively and smoothly as possible. Having

community help and access to various resources is effective for resettlement and the ORR tries to

specify and address the individual needs of each family. This provides the needed support for

families, and the “ORR wants to front-load resettlement services so that refugees are empowered

through early employment, reach self-sufficiency as soon as possible and become active,

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contributing participants in their communities” (Office of Refugee Resettlement, 2015). This

office also seeks to increase the technology of their programs, so that they can better track

performance, successes, and improvements needed to advance the process. Some of the

programs provided by the ORR include: Cash and Medical assistance, Public and Private

partnership, Refugee School Impact, and Refugee Social Services. This includes English classes

and aiding with school needs, such as interpretation and translation. The ORR makes it possible

for refugees to continue having access to aid if they cannot become self-sufficient after three

months. Refugees are in a completely different country, speaking a different language, with so

many cultural barriers to overcome. The ORR is crucial for helping refugees integrate, in

addition to the organizations that partner with the resettlement agencies to assist families.

The Economic Concern

Resettling refugees contribute to the economic gain in the U.S. through examples such as

Albert Einstein and the Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Another great example is Steve Jobs’

father, who was a refugee from Syria (The Economist, December 2015). These are some of the

well-known people in the U.S. who have boosted the economy through creating prosperous

industries, providing jobs and producing technological advances that are important for modern

day society. Beyond the success of Google, Yahoo, Intel and Apple, the influx of refugees

increases the upfront need for food, shelter, and clothing. Also, since many refugees do not speak

English they must start off at lower -level jobs, but this does not mean they are without an

education. According to the Migration Policy Institute, Syrian immigrants in the U.S. have high

educational attainment and they continue to increase in their achievements (Capps, Fix, 2015).

This research shows the potential refugees have, and resettlement agencies try their best to

sustain this by placing refugees in communities of the same race. Media outlets such as the

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Huffington Post state, “Refugee resettlement is, at worst, economically neutral in the long run,

and is unequivocally the most effective and humane way to handle the refugee crisis” (La Corte,

2015). Plus, the number of Syrian refugees the U.S. expects to resettle in this upcoming year is

equivalent to .003% of the entire U.S. population (La Corte, 2015), and that number still stands

low in comparison to the amount that other countries resettle. The UN is doing its best to resettle

Syrians, but they only have 7 percent of their Response Budget funded (UNHCR, 2016).

Breeding Terrorism

By denying refugees resettlement, the U.S. faces a greater threat: breeding terrorism and

radicalization. Refugee camps are proven to be breeding grounds for terrorism, and while most

refugees attempt to flee from this issue, hopelessness can lead to the upbringing of an entirely

new generation of terrorists (Hampson, 2015). The more assistance that is denied, the more

Assad’s regime, and more importantly ISIS will flood into neighboring borders. Refugee camps

do not provide jobs or sustainability, and they barely have enough food and shelter for the

4,837,208 million Syrian refugees who fled the country to seek refuge (UNHCR, 2016). Most

families must flee to Europe or other places with open borders in order to find refuge and work.

Refugees understand that the crisis is spreading and will continue to worsen. Therefore, staying

in neighboring countries will not sustain their families, especially since they are denied the right

to work in most of these neighboring countries. This is why resettlement is globally and

domestically important, without negating the need for security procedures.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

The compromise of aid and security can be made, but it must stem from a place of facts,

not fear. Since the U.S. plans on increasing the number of refugees each year, the government

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should strongly promote private sponsorship and services to ease the economical concerns and

desired assistance for resettlement services. Also, as terrorism concerns rise, there are proactive

security measures that can be applied after resettling refugees. The example of these measures

will derive from a recent bill in South Carolina that passed in March, 2016. The compromise for

both aid and security can be met for all stakeholders by allowing resettlement and strengthening

security methods.

By promoting private sponsorships, the communities will help carry the economic

concerns and more volunteers will join in the resettlement process. The more volunteers that

organizations obtain, the smoother the transition, finances, and attaining of employment will be

for refugee families. Resettlement goals are to get refugees into welcoming communities that

have necessary services for them to smoothly transition into society. Many churches welcome

refugees and furnish their homes, but as the number of families increase so will the need for

more church support. Community involvement can spread through town hall meetings, speaking

engagements by advocates, and through forms of media and communication that promote the

need for refugee assistance. Within these sources, it is essential to educate the public on the facts

of the refugee situation, and clarifying the fears that many have. This biased fear needs to be

addressed, but that can only be done by spreading the facts of the refugee situation. Currently,

the best way to accomplish this is for churches and organizations to educate and spread refugee

facts throughout their congregations.

Sacramento’s World Relief Office is a working example of community involvement,

financial assistance, and in educating the public abut the crisis. Volunteers furnish temporary

housing locations for refugees, and they aid with services such as transportation or orientation of

their communities. They have refugee advocates that speak at churches or events in order to

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educate the public and to recruit volunteers for help. Through the establishment of community

partnerships with organizations such as these, effective support for refugees could be more

readily available.

If the economic burdens become detrimental, Canada’s resettlement service is the

example to follow. They promote private sponsorships for refugees, and individuals or groups

unite in sponsoring refugees for at least a year. Many continue to support families until they

successfully become self-sufficient, and the support is exceptionally effective. One article by

The Economist asserted,

“One idea to ease the worry about the cost of refugees is to adopt private sponsorship of them, as Canada does. Since 1979 Canada’s privately financed programme has resettled more than 200,000 refugees. Community organisations, churches and members of ethnic minorities pool funds to pay for refugees to come to Canada and to help them settle and find work. A study of the Canadian programme in 2007 suggests that privately sponsored refugees become self-sufficient more quickly than those supported by Canada’s government” (The Economist, October 2015).

Promoting this type of sponsorship must be done through forms of communication and media.

Sharing this study emphasizes how impactful communities and private groups are when involved

in the resettlement process. One of Canada’s Evaluation of Refugee Assistance Program states,

“The 2004 RAP evaluation noted that ‘privately sponsored refugees tend to become more self-

sufficient sooner and are less likely to go on to social assistance’” (Citizenship and Immigration

Canada, 2007). This system overall benefits the refugees and it has the potential to ease the

economic concerns of the U.S.

Follow-Up Security

In addition, the U.S. must be proactive in strengthening security procedures once

refugees have arrived and are resettled. This solution is for the sake of prevention and not

prescription. The government’s initial assistance lasts for a 90-day period maximum. In the event

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that refugees are resettled in a shorter amount of time than the 90-day period, and the two home

visits that are are completed, monitoring is no longer required. While some may advocate against

these security protocols, it gives the government more time to continuously ensure the safety of

the public. All stakeholders must reach a compromise to create policy, and some states have

attempted to reach this goal.

On March 23, 2016 South Carolina passed Bill 9974, which covers three main

components: a database registration, liability factors, and the inclusion of the Law Enforcement

Division. This bill requires refugees to be registered within a database that Department of Social

Services monitors, but the Law Enforcement Division can also access it. The resettlement agency

must provide basic information of the refugee in addition to “job status, name and contact

information of the refugee's employer, if any, all state, local, or federal assistance provided to the

refugee, criminal record, and any other information that the department determines to be relevant”

(South Carolina Assembly, 2016). Refugees should also be on the “no fly list” outside of the U.S.

in order to monitor their location and communication with any terrorist groups. As noted before,

these measures are for prevention purposes. The bill needs to remove the access of “any other

information that the department determines to be relevant” (South Carolina Assembly, 2016). Its

language is too vague and leaves the bill too open to interpretation. The ambiguous wording can

allow government authorities to abuse their powers, especially if they do not want refugees in

their communities.

Another recommendation is the need for a time framework for this database. There

should be a realistic timeframe for refugees to be registered within this database, and five years

should serve as a reasonable amount of time for monitoring. Also, another major component of

4See:SouthCarolinaAssembly

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this bill allows The State Law Enforcement Division to access this database and assure the state

that refugees “do not pose a public safety risk” (South Carolina Assembly, 2016). Therefore, five

years is enough time for all departments that take part in the screening process to maximize the

assurance of safety. With the improvement of technology and advances in biometric databases,

this timeframe will give the government an extra five years to continue reviewing refugee

documents.

Additionally, this bill holds resettlement agencies liable for any crimes or injuries that

refugees may commit. This section should be completely taken out, because the organizations

are not at fault and refugees are to be held accountable for their own actions. Organizations are

crucial for resettlement and this section of the bill stops them from aiding families and taking

refugee cases. As noted before, both extremes must be avoided. Many organizations will be

forced to go against their mission statements and what they stand for, in order to comply to these

regulations. The World Relief office in South Carolina is one of the organizations being

involuntarily influenced to consider discontinuing resettling refugees. A World Relief staff

member, Jenny Yang, states that this provision would “infringe on our ability to carry out our

mission, which is a matter of carrying out our faith and practicing our religion, to help people

who are vulnerable” (Posner, 2016).

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

Carrying out the Christian faith in light of the Syrian Refugee Crisis is grounded in

biblical justice. This justice is found all throughout scripture and it looks beyond what is right

and wrong, and sees the real matter of good versus evil. Society cannot understand what is right

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and wrong without understanding what is good and what is evil. The Bible helps Christians

understand these differences and it is easily observed that the heart of terrorism is evil.

ISIS decapitating the heads of Christians speaks to this evil, and with churches being

burned down around the world Christians cannot look away from the fact that there is truly a

battle against evil itself. Phillip Yancey, a well known Christian author of our time, speaks about

the troubles Christians abroad face. In Indonesia, Christians are being killed and churches are

being burned down. In Malaysia, Christian women are forced to marry Muslim men, strong

imams bribe Christian villagers with money to sign documents making them legally Muslims

(that cannot be reversed once it is done), and Malaysian Christians can almost never gain

permission to build churches (Yancey, 2015). He references how all throughout scripture the

followers of God have always been the minority, and it’s usually in a aggressive environment”

(Yancey, 2015). This demonstrates the battle of good and evil that is constantly happening

around the world.

Christians must also remember that they were also strangers alienated from God, who are

welcomed into the family of God, through Jesus. Ephesians 2:19 (NASB) reminds Christians that

because Jesus died on the cross, believers “are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow

citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.5” Therefore, Christians must welcome

outsiders just as God has. Leviticus 19:34 (NASB) also says, “The stranger who resides with you

shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens

in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.” Refugees should be given the same care and

love that God gives to His people constantly, and should share this care and love with strangers.

5Read:Ephesians2:11-19

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The most well known refugee for Christians would be Jesus. Having to flee started when

Jesus was still in Mary’s womb, and continued after when Joseph was told in a dream to flee to

Egypt because Herod was seeking to kill Jesus6. This family was not only facing persecution

from the government, but also from the people within their communities. Many baffled at the

thought of Jesus being the Son of God. It’s easy to look at Jesus’ story and even the stories of the

Syrian refugees and not understand the hardship of the journey. These are journeys by foot, in

uknown lands, speaking uknown languages, all while hoping to not get robbed on this voyage.

These are families who have fled everything they know in hope of being able to live a “normal”

life again. They are people who will walk thousands of miles, swim through dangerous bodies of

water, and cross countries at the most dangerous times of the night, all to arrive into places they

cannot even speak the language. The most interesting part of Jesus’ story is the fact that the

family sought refuge in Egypt, and that is the very place the Israelites were held captive for years.

Christians read and learn about people seeking refuge all throughout scripture, yet they are some

of the first people to reject and push away those who need it the most. Christians are called to be

people of compassion and to show the love, grace, and mercy that God has given through His

Son Jesus Christ. The church was not created just for those who are saved, but for the lost,

broken, and hurting. Syrian refugees are fleeing from the persecution of their government,

terrorists, and other extremist groups infiltrating their country.

Christians are citizens of both Earth and heaven, but from a spiritual standpoint, the view

of this crisis cannot simply be a humanitarian issue. The Bible says that during final judgement

Jesus will gather all of the nations and separate those who welcomed the stranger, from those

6Read:Matthew2:13-15

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who did not.

For those who did, Matthew 25: 34-40 (NASB)7 says:

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” Living in a time that challenges a believers dual citizenship, Christians must determine if

living out the gospel of Christ is their priority, and if love is greater than the possible threat of

terorrism. Christians simply cannot forget the grace given to them to be apart of God’s family.

As Jesus was a refugee and as scripture states, let us not deny water, food, or care to those who

need it. If the fear is terrorism in our land, it already exists. Terrorism is just as easily home

grown as it is internationally grown. Christians must choose compassion, love, and extending the

hand of grace to the Syrian refugees.

CONCLUSION

The Syrian refugee crisis is a humanitarian issue that affects citizens of the U.S and

citizens of God’s kingdom. While forfeiting the biblical mandate to care for the orphaned,

foreigners, and strangers is preferred in a time of terrorism, these are human beings that are

fleeing from the persecution of their government and terror from extremist groups in their land.

The Assad regime has no intentions of stopping the bombings and killings of its own people.

They will continue to expand and go after rebel groups, and more importantly they will do so

7ReadallofMatthew25:31-46

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without caring for the innocent lives that are lost. Families are losing their homes, their loved

ones, and they are exposed to terrorism on every possible level. This is the worst refugee crisis

since World War II, and countless children have suffered immensely in the process. Syrian

refugees are being murdered by the Assad regime or by ISIS, so they choose to flee for refuge,

care, and more importantly to better the lives of their children.

The right to refuge is a universal principle that this nation has agreed to be apart of. The

more the U.S. rejects resetttlement, the more that ISIS will grow and recruit. The U.S has always

helped refugees from past global issues, and the numbers were increasingly higher. A policy

analyst from The U.S. Committee for Refugees states: “…and at what point outside governments

are moved beyond protecting their own interests, to prevent the violence or the victims of

violence from spilling across borders, to be sufficiently apalled by the atrocities taking place

within the borders of a country to intervene on behalf of victims” (Landes, Blair, Jacobs, 1995).

The regime has done everything in it’s power to stop aid from coming in, and this has caused

more families to flee onto the treacherous journey into another country. Refugees are risking

their lives, and the lives of their children, for the chance to have a better life. Many have chosen

to die trying to flee, than to stay in Syria and know that at any second their famly could be killed

right in front of them. This country is divided in so many ways, and while the world looks for a

solution to deal with the problem, lives are being taken every single day.

Aiding refugees and protecting the nation’s security can be done. There should be

proactive steps towards safeguarding the U.S. from terrorists, but denying resettlement should

not be an option. If these famliies had a choice, they would be in their home country, with their

famlilies, working the jobs for which they reached their education levels. Helping them

intergrate actually serves the country’s interest because it poses less of a threat or reason for

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refugees to go against the country that has aided them. In fact, helping families assimilate and

integrate will make them less of a threat to communities. Plus, the next Steve Jobs or Albert

Einstein can be among them. With the largest refugee influx at hand, the U.S. must advocate for

resettling Syrian refugees, especially in a time of mass persecution, but with proactive security

measures alongside of it.

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