Buzz
While the media may suggest that the current refugee crisis is unprecedented, it's merely the latest chapter in a long series of challenges that have shaped the modern United States. Some claim that the American response to the Syrian refugee crisis shows a long-standing hostility towards displaced persons, but this oversimplifies the reality. America's history with refugees includes moments to regret and others to be deeply proud of. Each crisis has the potential to reveal both the worst and the best in people.
NOTE: This article focuses on refugees in the context of the United States. For our discussion on refugees in Europe, click here.
10. Rescuing 20,000 Muslims
The complex relationship between refugees and Islam is a major point of contention today. Liberals argue that the US discriminates against Muslim refugees, while conservatives claim that the rise of the Islamic State has made Muslims a unique threat. However, the US hasn't always had such a polarized stance on Muslim refugees. In 1999, the government took extraordinary measures to rescue 20,000 Muslims fleeing persecution.
The context for this action was the war in Kosovo. Serbian paramilitary forces were massacring villages, NATO was launching missiles on Serbian civilian areas, and 600,000 Kosovars sought refuge elsewhere. Almost all of them were ethnic Albanian Muslims. Confronted with this mass displacement, the US took extensive measures to ensure the safety of the fleeing Kosovars.
What stands out today is the speed with which those 20,000 refugees were brought to safety. Standard procedures were bypassed, and the refugee application process was accelerated dramatically. There was also considerable bipartisan support for the initiative. Republicans testified before Congress in favor of aiding the refugees. A national poll taken right before the first plane carrying refugees landed revealed that 59 percent of Americans supported the decision, with an additional 22 percent wishing to do even more.
9. Rejecting the St. Louis
Not all waves of refugees have been met with such kindness. The story of the St. Louis remains one of the darkest chapters in America’s long history with those fleeing oppression. In 1939, 935 German Jews—including survivors of concentration camps—set sail from Hamburg, hoping to escape the impending Nazi terror and find safety in the Americas. The passengers had arranged all necessary paperwork for entry into Cuba, from where they planned to apply for US visas.
Or so they thought. Just before the voyage, Cuba changed its policy regarding Jewish refugees, imposing stricter requirements and demanding additional documentation. By the time the St. Louis left port, only 26 passengers had secured the new visas. They were the fortunate few.
The remaining 909 were turned away from Cuba. After being stranded offshore for weeks, the St. Louis set course for Miami, but the US denied them entry as well. The ship wandered at sea for several days, and ultimately, diplomatic efforts to allow the refugees into either the US or Cuba collapsed. The St. Louis turned back to Europe.
While some of the passengers were able to seek refuge in the UK, the majority were sent to the Netherlands, France, or Belgium. When Nazi forces overran these countries, the passengers of the St. Louis were captured. The Holocaust ultimately claimed the lives of 254 of them.
8. Acts of Kindness in Thailand
Thailand is a significant refugee destination in Southeast Asia. After the Vietnam War, the country was inundated with “boat people,” prompting it to close its borders. Additionally, many Cambodians fled the brutal regime of Pol Pot, and for the last two decades, refugees from Myanmar have sought refuge there.
As a result, Thailand is reluctant to be seen as a “refugee haven.” It confines those who arrive to overcrowded camps, routinely deports individuals back to authoritarian governments that seek to torture them, and generally creates a difficult environment for those fleeing violence or persecution. This is particularly dire for Myanmar’s refugees. For a long time, Myanmar was one of the most troubled nations in Asia, plagued by child soldiers, sexual violence, and torture. Many refugees from Myanmar stayed in Thailand because of pressure from the US.
Despite what current rhetoric may suggest, the US is one of the most active nations in advocating for refugee rights. The US government has consistently urged Thailand to improve its treatment of asylum-seekers. In 2007, the US decided to take a leadership role.
In that year, the US granted Myanmar refugees in Thailand the right to resettle in a third country. As a result, over the next five years, 104,000 refugees were resettled in the US. This was a remarkable achievement, made even more remarkable because the government did so quietly, without seeking much public attention. Unlike the refugees from Kosovo or Syria, the resettlement of a population large enough to populate a small town was handled discreetly and effectively.
7. The US and the UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) faces one of the most challenging tasks on Earth. Its mission is to move asylum seekers out of overcrowded, dangerous camps and resettle them in third countries where they can ideally contribute to the local economy. On a global scale, the agency handles applications from about 14 million people and successfully resettles 73,000 annually. This crucial work would be impossible without the support of the United States.
Since the conclusion of World War II, the US has been a global leader in refugee resettlement. While nations bordering conflict zones, like Turkey, may currently house more displaced individuals, the US takes in more asylum-seekers voluntarily than any other country on the planet.
This is significant because the number of countries willing to accept refugees is extremely limited. The UNHCR has just 28 countries it can rely on during a crisis, which represents about 14 percent of all global states. Many of these nations don’t contribute enough. For instance, Japan accepted only six refugees in 2013.
As a result, the US is often viewed as the moral leader when it comes to refugees. Whether fairly or unfairly, it is the country that others turn to in times of crisis.
6. Washington and the Iraqi Refugees
Despite being a leader in refugee resettlement, the US has not been without its blemishes. One of its most regrettable moments in recent history involved Iraqi citizens who participated in the Direct Access program.
This program was designed for Iraqis who worked with US military forces, US-based NGOs, media organizations, or businesses during the Iraq War. Around 58,000 individuals are enrolled in the program, including Muslims, Yazidis, and other minority groups. All of them have become targets for ISIS due to their assistance in advancing US interests.
In recent years, the slow pace of the program to bring Iraqis to the US has been met with widespread criticism. By 2015, it was on the verge of collapsing. A bill passed by the House with a vote of 289–137 mandated that three senior government officials personally vet every single Iraqi refugee entering America. This effectively shut the door to refugees from Iraq, regardless of whether they were fleeing ISIS or had assisted the US after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell. The New Yorker called the bill a “betrayal” and accused it of “fueling irrationality and bigotry.”
In a historical context, the bill appears to signify that the US is experiencing a backlash against refugees, similar to what occurred with Jewish refugees during World War II and the Irish during the Great Famine. While such cycles may recur, it could take a long time before we witness the same generosity extended to refugees from Kosovo or Burma again.
5. Refugee Conspiracy Theories
In recent months, there has been a surge in conspiracy theories about refugees, ranging from claims that the government is secretly relocating hundreds of thousands of Muslims to Oklahoma, to stories about Syrians allegedly bringing a flesh-eating virus to the US. These theories are hardly new. In fact, they are mild compared to some of the more extreme conspiracy theories that have swept through the US in the past.
One of the most infamous examples is likely the conspiracy theories that emerged surrounding Irish economic refugees fleeing the catastrophic famine of the 1840s. Since many, if not all, of these refugees were Catholic, it sparked widespread panic based on their supposed allegiance to the Pope. The Irish were accused of being secret Papists sent to dismantle democracy and destroy the US. Catholicism itself was even portrayed as a political movement rather than a religion, and therefore unworthy of First Amendment protections.
Other groups also became the focus of similar theories, varying in credibility. Those fleeing the European revolutions of 1848 were accused of being atheists and socialists, with Southerners fearing they aimed to free the slaves (a notion that was likely true in some cases). Russians escaping the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution were suspected of being Communist spies, while Jews fleeing Nazi persecution were thought to be potential Nazi agents.
These conspiracy theories about the unknown appear to be a constant in history. At the very least, they serve to confirm the old saying that there is nothing new under the Sun.
4. Humanitarian Instincts in Bosnia
The disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s marked a defining moment for that generation, much like the ongoing Syrian conflict. It was a tangled web of ethnic and religious discord that fractured the country and displaced millions. It became the most violent European conflict since World War II. Even as late as 2013, there were still 330,000 former Yugoslavians classified as refugees. However, the global response to this crisis was strikingly different from the one seen today.
In the mid-1990s, the US made a strategic choice to prioritize humanitarian efforts over military intervention. At that time, the Bosnian war raged on, plagued by ethnic cleansing and genocidal massacres. The US committed to resettling Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) by issuing 131,000 visas, with 9,000 Bosnians arriving in Chicago alone, marking one of the largest resettlement efforts in history.
The road wasn’t smooth. By the early 2000s, concerns about a disaffected generation of Bosnian youth began to emerge, especially after a Bosniak teenager went on a tragic shooting rampage that claimed five lives. Others struggled with drugs and gang involvement. Yet the full picture was more nuanced. In St. Louis, the influx of Bosnians completely revitalized a neighborhood that had long been plagued by crime and decay, leading to a flourishing local economy. A 2015 analysis revealed that most Bosnian refugees in the area earned over $80,000 annually. Many became business owners and vital pillars of the community.
3. Today’s Refugees
Currently, there are over three million refugees from Syria, with an additional 6.5 million people displaced within the country. As a result, more individuals are fleeing Syria than any other country on the planet, surpassing even Colombia in terms of internal refugees.
Around the world, responses to the refugee crisis have varied dramatically, ranging from open arms to outright hostility. In September 2015, Germany notably welcomed Syrians, while Turkey is now home to nearly two million refugees. In contrast, countries like Poland and Hungary have firmly closed their doors, with anti-refugee sentiments growing stronger.
Then there’s the United States. The Obama administration has planned to admit around 10,000 Syrians fleeing ISIS and Assad’s forces. Liberals argue that this number is far too low, while conservatives contend it’s much too high. Some states are even pursuing legal action to block refugees, while others advocate for greater acceptance.
It’s hard to predict how history will view this crisis or where it might lead. Perhaps this will be remembered as the moment the US closed its doors for good. Alternatively, it could be a fleeting event that leaves little mark on history. What we do know for certain is that political tides shift constantly. Today, the US may deny entry to 20,000 Jewish children, only to admit 20,000 Muslims tomorrow. Nothing is guaranteed. We can only hope that, in the end, this period is seen as the US striving to do the right thing, even in difficult times.
2. The Fate of Europe’s Jewish Children
Earlier, we discussed how the US became the leading destination for refugees after World War II. This wasn’t by accident. In fact, during the early days of anti-Jewish violence, the US refugee policy took some deeply troubling turns.
In February 1939, Congress was urged to pass a bipartisan bill that would allow 20,000 German Jewish children to enter the US without delay. While the public largely opposed it, most political leaders were in favor. However, the bill was blocked by the judiciary committees, which were dominated by anti-refugee members from the South and West. These representatives actively sought to kill the bill, and one even testified that '20,000 charming children would all too soon grow into 20,000 ugly adults.' Southerners proudly declared they would stop the bill before it was even voted on, and the proposal ultimately failed.
These restrictive measures devastated thousands of Jewish families, including that of Anne Frank. In 1941, her father, Otto Frank, tried desperately to get his family to the US. Unfortunately, their visas were denied under a new law that equated being a Jewish refugee with having family in Nazi-controlled areas, which was treated as being a Nazi sympathizer. Anne Frank later perished in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
It wasn’t until the full scope of the Holocaust became clear that the US began to shift its stance on refugees. From being deeply unwelcoming, the country transformed into one of the most accepting nations in the world. For the rest of the 20th century, the US was home to half of all refugees permanently resettled worldwide.
1. Washington And The Vietnamese
The response of Washington to the exodus of South Vietnamese refugees is notable for its direct contradiction to public opinion. While the atrocities in Bosnia and Kosovo led to widespread support for refugee resettlement, the American public strongly opposed the arrival of Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon. A Gallup poll from the time revealed that only 36% of Americans believed that the US should accept Vietnamese refugees. Many feared they would take jobs, place a burden on taxpayers, or even act as Communist spies.
Despite this, the US government moved forward and welcomed them anyway. In 1975, approximately 120,000 Vietnamese refugees were granted asylum in the US. When a backlog of 'boat people' arriving in Guam caused delays, the US waived background checks and allocated $450 million toward resettlement efforts. While some Americans protested the influx, many others stepped up to help. For example, a small town in Nebraska sponsored two doctors, desperate for local medical professionals.
By 1979, it was clear that Washington’s decision had been a success. The Vietnamese refugees had largely integrated into American society, with few needing government assistance, and their average incomes were relatively high. For many years, it was seen as one of the greatest success stories in refugee resettlement history.
