News from the Week of March 18^th

This week columnist Michael Gerson reflects on what it means to be American. He recalls how during World War II, 90 percent of Americans supported food rationing at home to help starving people in Europe and Asia. America, he writes, is “the nation that liberated death camps, rebuilt our enemies, inspires dissidents, welcomes refugees, secures the peace on every contested frontier and seizes ‘the burden and glory of freedom.’”

Sixty refugees were scheduled to resettle in Bloomington, Indiana. Thus far, zero have set foot on U.S. soil. Diane Legomsky, chair of the Bloomington Refugee Support Network, shared that there are a network of organizations and resources across the town committed to welcoming and helping refugees. “We have the resources to be able to welcome them whenever the State Department chooses to send them," Legomsky said. "We’d be ready to welcome them, and I think they’d have a safe life in Bloomington."

Refugees in Tennessee hope to engage with lawmakers and share their love for their new home. Juma Shaibo, a Sudanese refugee who lives in Nashville, has a message for state legislators, “I'm proud to be here. My family is proud to be here, and we wish all the lawmakers should come down and listen to us because we love them, we love Tennessee and Tennessee loves us too. We are proud to be in America." It’s worth noting that between 1990 and 2012, refugees and their descendants provided $1.4 billion in revenue for the state, proving that refugees make America stronger.

A new report by the Institute of Security Studies pushes back against claims that refugees pose increased security risks and shows that, conversely, refugees actually play a key role in fighting extremist threats. The author of the report, Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, explains that refugees, unsurprisingly, express considerable disdain for the violent extremists who subjected them to brutal violence and displaced them from their homes. Further, the report shows that refugees play a critical role in undermining terrorist narratives and countering extremist threats.

Afghan and Iraqi refugees who received Special Immigrant Visas for serving alongside U.S. troops need help finding skilled jobs and affordable housing. However, most of these SIV holders were employed and not receiving cash assistance six-months after arrival. Many have advanced degrees but are working low-skill jobs; they’re eager to give back to the country that took them in by living up to their potential in America. After risking their lives for us, helping them do just that is the least we can do.