Jaclyn Figg
Staff Writer
Imagine being stranded in a war zone, your family is in imminent danger and there is no escape but to flee the country. Now imagine being in a country where everyone around you is terrified of being the next one to be attacked. What is the answer when you add both of the equations together?
The United States is currently debating the acceptance of Syrian refugees, whose country has been in a civil war since 2011.
Some states in the US have agreed to accept these refugees but others are on the fence about the issue because they are worried about the safety of their residents due to a terrorist group called ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) or ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant).
“What [Otter] has called for is a halt to the resettlement of refugees until such time as the federal government can give state assurances about the vetting process of some of the people that are coming into the country,” said Jon Hanian, press secretary for the governor of Idaho, Butch Otter.
Recent attacks on Paris, presumed to be perpetrated by terrorists from the ISIS group, have brought to attention the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
On Nov. 13, 2015, there were a series of coordinated attacks in Paris and its Northern Suburb Saint-Denis, killing approximately 130 people and injuring 368.
“The Paris attackers weren’t refugees, so you have to differentiate between the two,” said Daniel Hummel a professor of political science at Idaho State University. “There is still a very large cloud of mystery over whether or not one of the guys who committed the atrocities came in with the refugees.”
France has been a haven for hundreds of Syrian refugees, and many have settled down and found security in the nation.
France has been on high alert since attacks killing 17 in Jan. 2015 but the incident in November caused them to declare a state of emergency.
“Paris is a secure city particularly when you look in the European Union. If you can create an act of violence in Paris you have just proven you can create an act of violence in any city in the European Union, so by hitting Paris, you are putting everyone else in the EU on alert that they are also vulnerable,” said Donna Lybecker, an ISU political science department chair and professor.
Refugees are one of the priority groups for acceptance of immigrants into the United States and federal government is the only level of government that can control immigration.
A number of governors in the US are refusing to take in Syrian Refugees.
“Governor Otter is traveling the state stating his opposition to allowing any Syrians to come here; he does not have the constitutional authority to do that and he has no authority to actually enforce that,” said Shane Gleason, political science professor at ISU specializing in public law and methodology.
The Paris attacks have caused a rise of anti-Muslim violence in the US, which according to Hummel is worse than after 9/11.
Terrorism can come in many different forms; when an extremist of a group passes over the threshold of merely undermining someone to violence, a terrorist is born.
“If you start from the premise that any political or social religious cause who will engender believers who will then engender extremists out of whom may come some violent people, then terrorism can be found in every religion, every political belief, every cause,” said Sean Anderson a political science professor who specializes in domestic and international terrorism.
Although President Obama has come out against it, congress is trying to pass a veto proof majority bill that would restrict the flow of Syrian refugees to the US.
Refugees fleeing Syria are trying to escape war and instability, have piece, and hope for a better future for their children according to Hummel.
The federal government has the final say in immigration law over state law and if need be can force the state to comply.
“What the governor has said is this is largely a federal program, so what they’re currently doing now they don’t need a lot of state input because they don’t listen to it anyway,” said Hanian. “What the governor has requested is a delay; he’s asked that we hit the pause button on this program until such time as we can get some of these concerns addressed.”
A pause in accepting the refugees may be cause for additional suffering to those who have no placement.
“I think it’s a smoke screen to say we should put a pause on it,” Hummel said, “the question is how much more stringent would you make the refugee vetting process that’s already very stringent.”
Refugees have been seeking sanctuary in the US for many years and there are in fact already Syrian refugees located here.
Perhaps the answer is added security to ease the minds of those fearful of attacks, to not take in refugees, or perhaps the answer is to help any in need regardless of background.
“If you look at the refugee communities that we have here in the United States we haven’t seen any type of problem with any of these refugee communities,” Hummel said.
