Refugees Deserve Compassion, Not Partisan Bickering

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While refugees and migrants fleeing violence and unrest continue to seek shelter in Europe and beyond, U.S. politicians have used the situation to draw a partisan line in the sand.

The Senate Judiciary committee held a hearing yesterday in response to the president’s call to allow tens of thousands of Syrian refugees into the U.S., and next Wednesday the House Judiciary Committee intends to do the same. In response to Thursday’s Senate hearing, faith leaders sent letters to Congress and the Administration, urging them to show compassion towards refugees and welcome them in larger numbers in the next fiscal year.

Meanwhile, some public figures are using the issue to simply fuel the flame of anti-immigrant rhetoric. Donald Trump even declared that if he wins the election, he would send Syrian refugees back to what he has previously described as a “living hell,” further underscoring his inhumane and inconsistent musings.

“Somehow, what should be a humanitarian issue about peoples’ lives and wellbeing has become yet another political football,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum Action Fund. “Instead of using these refugees as a political opportunity, our politicians should treat them with compassion and empathy, and pursue a responsible and intelligent conversation on this global issue.

“The unfounded fear-mongering has got to stop. Americans want real solutions, not partisan bickering.”