In the face of horrific crisis and devastation, we call on the United States government to do much more to help alleviate the Syrian refugee crisis.
Over 11 million people have fled their homes due to violence and persecution, many risking their lives in an effort to reach a country that will provide refuge. While the U.S. is providing substantial foreign aid to the region, humanitarian funding is still severely inadequate given the vast need. Syria’s neighboring countries do not have the means to provide for the millions of refugees residing within their borders. Many refugees have fled further to Europe, where only a handful of countries are willing to welcome them. And in the process, too many are in grave danger. Too many are dying.
While the Syrian refugee crisis is the largest since World War II, the U.S. is resettling a fraction of the 200,000 people we resettled in 1980 during the Indochinese boat refugee crisis.
We are witnessing the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, and the United States cannot simply sit on the sidelines. We call on the U.S. government to take a leadership role in this moment, and to:
1) Commit to resettling in the United States 100,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, allowing more individuals and families to start new lives in safety and freedom.
2) Increase the amount of humanitarian aid that we are providing in the region to ensure that refugees have access to food, shelter, medical care, and education while displaced from their homes, so they do not feel compelled to flee a second time.
3) Make the resolution of the Syria crisis a top foreign policy priority.