Thank you, New York Times, for calling them refugees, not "migrants." The change was long overdue.
2
For those of us on a pension 5 or 25 years from now, we will be kicking ourselves that we didnt let more of that young, eager blood in.
5
Why can America ALWAYS find huge amounts of money to spend on the Military and do so at any opportunity in order to at best cause the deaths , destruction and displacement of millions of people including its own military personnel.?
And yet cuts the help, support and the opportunities of millions of it's own citizens including not providing health care to those many millions? It even isn't addressing the huge number of people dying from opiate overdoses many due to the greed of drug companies and doctors chasing profit as they over prescribe and dispense millions and millions of these potentially lethal drugs to those who are now the victims of such behaviour.
The same America that can bomb, drone, invade or enter all the countries it has and continues to do spending literally TRILLIONS to achieve Nothing that has done good, helped people or even achieve stated objectives...ever.
And now just 20,000 refugees will be accepted by a country with so much money , going to so much doing so little except causing harm and hurt, whilst those most fortunate and with the most wealth and opportunities are given the greatest help, monies, support and attention , whilst the most helpless , poor, needy and desperate are denied more , given less and scorned for being in such a parlous state and dont even have the things that most nations provide ALL their citizens.
America...where weapons, bombs and missiles killing foreigners in distant lands, supersedes its own needy everytime.
13
After reading these comments, I see so clearly that we are a nation divided. And as Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided cannot stand.
We are at a major crossroads in our nation's history. Where we go from here, feels extremely important.
We can continue shouting at each other, or we can take a step back, remember that all of us have been at places in our lives where we needed to ask someone else for help.
Fear has no place in love. A great man once told us to remember and care for the poor, and be kind to those who persecute us. Have we completely forgotten that?
5
When can we expect a judge in Hawaii to issue a nationwide injunction requiring the bureaucracy to report to him as their new boss?
7
Refugees who succeed in the new country are very rare. Most are dependent on social services. In CA, there is a routine practice of using chain migration to bring in old people from China when their kids (who were made citizens by birth tourism) can do so. The old people are then put on a variety of social services. We pay millions for refugees. My relatives who came in the 1920s had no supports. We should NOT be helping refugees in any manner.
27
In 2016 Australia accepted and resettled 27,626 people, a rate of 1.139 per 1000 people making it the 2nd highest accepting country for refugees in the World after Canada.
Australia's total population is 25 Million people.
The fact that in the soon ending fiscal year, America is on course to accept around only 20,000 refugees in total with all the incumbent caveats, rules and restrictions not practised by most other countries is a National Disgrace!
Not only is America the richest country in the World and has a population of over 300,000 people (and has been responsible over the last 10 years from its actions in the middle east as well as support in many other fields of conflict, more than any other Country for the displacement and destruction in many nations that has led to huge numbers of refugees now waiting to find new places to live and homes to have.
Mighty America who , more than any other, makes the most refugees but(per capita) takes the least refugees than any OECD Nation by a country mile and then some.
Worse, this years total of ALL refugees America will take will be half the total number Canada will and 8000 LESS than Australia.
Shameful America, just Shameful.
There is no justification for such a paltry effort and it is an affront to the decency that America is supposed to stand for and show others is one of it's guiding principles and moral imperatives.
No More.
6
Refugees are still coming. It's just that now they have to cross the border in secret.
8
Perhaps the US should simply auction the Statue of Liberty for scrap steel, and use that to fabricate a wall. The iconic statue now longer has any meaning to those in power.
8
So, when is the pressure going to start on white women to stay home and bear children as their patriotic duty? I see it coming even sooner than I thought it might since we are now turning our backs on legitimate refugees (or making them prove they can endure even more suffering just for a chance). Sad.
6
Hopefully they are on their way back to where they came from. Just because your economy is lousy no reason for refugee status. Just because your Goverment will not stand up to cime and gangs no reason for refugee status. The people that we have on the streets here needs the apartments and housing .
16
Have you ever lived under an authoritarian regime? Have you read about what it's like to?
6
Maybe, just maybe, if we had less illegals in this country, we could accept more refugees. However, because we have such a disproportionate amount of illegals in this country, we simply have less room for the refugees.
25
And the whiners say that President Trump hasn't done anything right.
11
The US isn't necessarily doing those brought here as refugees any great favors. Refugees to the US don't get the longterm support from resettlement agencies - or anyone else - that they need. And the program brings in too many who have a poor chance of making a good life here.
Such as Ngunza, 34, a Mormon refugee from Congo resettled in Utah, where he told the Deseret News he thought he'd "have a home of his own with a large backyard, where he could tend a garden and watch his children play.
"Instead, this is Ngunza’s reality: He lives in a tiny, roach-infested apartment with his wife and 11 children. His job slicing meat at a local deli pays just above minimum wage, which barely covers his monthly rent...
"Instead of dreams, these days Ngunza only has fears...
“Just like in the camp,” he says, “I feel trapped all over again.”
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900003906/a-mormon-refugee-familys-s...
Also sadly ill-equipped for US life is Malalai, an Afghan mother of 4 whose husband was an interpreter for US troops. Widowed shortly they arrived in the US, Malalai, who is illiterate, couldn't imagine life without a male in charge. “Afghan women are so dependent on their husband, father and brother – our responsibility is to provide a good home,” she explained. “We are not like women from other countries; we are scared of taking responsibility.”
http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/afghan-refugees/article8588151...
16
How ironic that on this very day the New York Times has a piece about how hundreds of Americans line up for a few available subsidized housing units, most going away disappointed.
Handwringing over how we aren't able to turn over to refugees free stocked apartments seems bizarre.
27
A few years ago, I watched in horror as people in Aleppo shared their last cell phone videos as their city was bombed into rubble. I wrote to President Obama asking that more refugees be let in. I know I wasn’t the only one, and he did decide to raise the cap slightly. The US still wasn’t doing its fair share at that time, and now the situation is much worse.
Yet I come over to the comments section of the NYT and find most of the comments here are as selfish and short-sighted as they could possibly be. Should we help homeless vets or homeless refugees? To quote a once-popular meme: “Both. Our leader wants to spend $70 billion on a stupid wall. Don’t tell me we don’t have the money.”
7
We're only 20 trillion in debt, with overcrowded schools, a looming teacher shortage....sure, let's take in millions more of unskilled, uneducated people while our veterans can't get trained or hired because companies can get cheaper labor.
27
I doubt the drafters of our refugee laws could imagine a world of 7 billion, to explode to 8, 9, 10 billion and beyond...so many people, so many failed states.
The US has taken in so many people....refugees, asylum seekers, TPS, legal immigrants of every category, illegals by the millions. Yes, a lot of Americans have immigration fatigue. It's one large reason why Trump won...and he was a steep price to pay for getting the borders under control.
I'm sorry, but the US just can't fix life for everyone...especially since we can't fix it for many people who, yes, "are already here." Sorry.
26
The U.S.A. doesn't have the resources (affordable medical care, affordable housing, room in our public schools, etc) to take decent care of the people already here. Until we get illegal immigration under control reducing the amount of legal immigrants ( including refugees) actually makes sense.
35
My comment is relative to Canada but it could probably be applicable to the USA. My feeling is that refugee resettlement (in as seen on TV and in camps refugees) has been usurped by the asylum seekers showing up at the border. An article I read today in The Guardian referenced that a Canadian official said 90% of the asylum seekers crossing into Quebec from the USA (primarily Nigerians who entered USA on travel visas) would not be eligible for refugee protection. Yet these illegal border crosses, who are well verses on the Safe Third County Agreement (they all have smartphones) between the USA and Canada know full well that they will be provided with all social supports including healthcare upon their arrival. The Quebec government has come out and said it can no longer cope - social housing, school places etc. I think it is telling in Italy that the leader of the League Matteo Salvani said if he is in power that his interior minister would shut the door on illegal immigration and process refugee claims from camps outside the country. This was stated in an article on Italy's attempt to form a government in today's NYTs. The large numbers of mainly bogus asylum seekers is depleting resources for those who are truly in need. In Italy 10% of the Mediterranean migrants are awarded full protection and 60% to 70% do not qualify for any. There is something very wrong with this scenario.
22
I empathize with the work these organizations are doing in assisting refugees moving to the United States.
But candidly, I'm disturbed why we aren't prioritizing our resources to feed our poor, house our homeless, and take care of our veterans first?
Let taking care of our own be our first priority. Then we can reach out to help others when that job is done.
20
Ok, what are you, or anyone else here making the same argument, doing to prioritize those needy people? Let's be honest--the same people who complain about a lack of resources for refugees are the same ones who want to cut food stamps.
6
Can all of these "stocked" apartments be repurposed for the US CITIZENS who are still in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico? Bring them to the mainland on planes or ships and resettle them in cities with apartments set aside for refugees. Certainly these people could benefit from the other amenities designed for refugees. This nation should put its citizens ahead of aliens.
19
This article illustrates an important fact: Refugee services are a big FOR-PROFIT business. Thousands and thousands across the country are paid salaries to cosset the refugees. The refugees get stuff, but the nannies for the refugees get paid salaries and sometimes there are high. When my relatives came here in the 1920s, they got none of this nappy-changing cossetting. It's time to re-evaluate the Refugee Industrial Complex. Why are so many caring for the refugees? Why do we take ANY refugees?
14
Because some of us are decent human beings.
5
If we must take refugees, which is not a requirement, the refugees should be given nothing more than a couple days food. The hundreds of thousands of dollars given to each refugee is a horrible misuse of our funds. We have hundreds of thousands of homeless. You seem comfy with that. I am not. No refugees, house US citizens who are homeless.
Trump and the Republicans have caused a sea-change in the spirit of the American people. Yes, it has been a long time in the works, I would say since Reagan.
But Trump has accomplished the most in terms of hating others, foreigners who are fleeing persecution. This nation has become xenophobic, in a globalized world.
That will not work out well in the long run, as it is not working out in the short run.
We have to pull together to address the problems of our age, across the globe. Trump and the Republicans are the least qualified to help us do that; they obstruct, and their solution is to enrich themselves and the very rich so that, apparently, they can all escape to another planet on a Bezos-provided space travel machine...and leave the beautiful earth to die.
Well, what are they going to do for servants and laborers?
This is getting beyond my ability to express the level of disgust and sadness I feel.
7
"Well, what are they going to do for servants and laborers?"
They think Black people will return to these jobs (both my grandmothers were maids). With no immigrants or refugees to contend with they'll drive Latinos out of the country, pretend Asians don't exist (or in the best apartheid style, make them honorary whites) and make white women into stay-at-home-baby-making-machine Stepford wives. Back to the future, indeed.
1
The families in Central American and Muslim countries have had too many children so they end up competing with one another for scarce resources.
Syrians have large families even though their arid land goes through periods of extreme drought. An especially long drought is what drove farmers to cities where many joined the rebellion.
A dry corridor cuts through wide swaths of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The corridor gets even drier during El Nino years. Families have many children even though they have trouble feeding them. A U.N. study called Food Security and Emigration, from last August, found a correlation between the number of people emigrating from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the U.S. and the weather. More come here during the El Nino years when food becomes really scarce.
Let us offer aid to Central Americans and Muslims in their own countries. We could teach them family planning and make artificial birth control available at low cost. We could teach the Central Americans to grow crops which require less water, and help them build reservoirs that will catch and store every drop of rainwater. We could help them help themselves instead of allowing them to move here where they continue to have many children.
We already have the third highest population on the planet. We are $20 trillion dollars in debt. And, unbeknownst to many New Yorkers, much of the West is arid, and underground water is being pumped at an alarming rate.
32
We are supposedly, still the richest nation in the world. We used to be a caring nation also. Apparently not anymore. I'm hearing a lot of selfishness and meanness in many of the comments deriding assistance to refugees. Shame on all of use for our holier than thou and superior attitudes concerning ALL the less fortunate people in this country. We have the money, we just need to guard against the Trumps' and The Republican congress stealing it all for their own vested interests. We Americans can do so much better than this.
9
Perhaps our own homeless citizens could benefit from this generosity?
30
I agree that permanent supportive housing for physically/psychologically frail US military veterans, law-abiding yet aging & poor ex-convicts, domestic violence & human trafficking survivors, and the like can be a positive repurposing of underused refugee benefits.
These kinds of US citizens & legal residents need safe places to heal & thrive too!
As for our own able-bodied citizens & legal residents who just constantly make poor life choices, they should only get help when they agree to:
1) not trash their housing, nor resell charitably given toys, appliances, clothes, food, etc. for costly luxuries & vices,
2) really work w/ counselors, sponsors, & ethical health professionals to wean themselves off destructive addictions,
3) use long-term birth control & get science-based sex education, to stop mindlessly getting/spreading STDs & birthing kids as anchor babies/welfare check bait/traps for partners to stay in abusive relationships,
4) get training to work at living wage jobs near them, as well as personal savings/credit management, and
5) stop gaming the safety nets to turn themselves into multi-generational "victims".
All citizens, legal residents, & refugees need to understand that US society and economy is only as healthy as the contributions & choices of the people living here.
The USA's taxes, charitable donations, & scarce resources (clean water & habitable land) must not be wasted on self-defeating narcissists/sociopaths/psychopaths/ingrates!
6
If it was possible, I would like to see someone compile a spreadsheet showing the historical immigration backgrounds of all Executive Branch employees, referencing parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc., including all senior positions up to the Chief Executive.
How many of these Trump Administration employees would even be alive and with us today, if the heavy-handed, discriminatory policies they have disingenuously crafted were applied to their own forebears? Trump, Kelly, Miller, Nielsen, et al, all possess a shameful, selective case of ancestral amnesia. No doubt, some of these disgusting hypocrites wish to embarrassingly whitewash the humble origins of their own families.
6
I'm not sure what people's ancestors from a hundred years ago have to do with immigration policy into the US today. Or why moving away from policies that aren't working for the modern-day US would make anyone a "hypocrite".
Lots of things that people did hundreds of years ago are not legal or suitable for the United States today. We aren't slaves to the past.
22
We are a country of immigrants, if you haven't noticed, and thrived because of that distinctive, national feature. As someone self-identified as being from New York City, a multi-ethnic metropolis probably containing every demographic group on the planet, your embrace of the extremist, exclusionary policies of the present Administration is remarkable.
3
The US can afford to maintain safety net programs to help residents of the US and take in refugees at a level much higher than the religiously-biased quotas of the Trump administration. Our Congress needs to get our priorities straight and stop giving welfare to billionaires and corporations.
At what point will those who so self-righteously say "Help people in the US first" but vote for those who cut funds for food stamps, for Medicaid, for housing and other programs to aid those who need temporary help realize they are putting thousands of small businesses at risk by stopping immigration? At what point will those voters understand the denial of student visas, and visas for STEM workers hurts the US?
Will these voters change their minds when Medicare and Social Security are cut despite all of us having paid into the Trust Fund during our working years? Right now only wages and employers of wage earners support Medicare and SS and the taxable wages are capped at less than $120,000/yr because the Republican Congress wants people to spend money on 401Ks and Roths and mutual funds. How did those work out for working families during the Bush II Recession?
The voters who supported the Republican tax cut for corporations and the .01% can't expect the results of cutting budgets for anti-poverty programs to help Americans out of poverty. Save the false piety and patriotism of "Americans First" and own up to the greed and bigotry which keeps refugees out of the US.
127
Please don't use the STEM argument... I work in a STEM field, and I'm friends with many who majored in STEM. Many Americans in STEM can't get a job - taking internationals and paying them less just hurts the US. American companies should hire and prioritize American citizens, especially the younger ones who have significant loans to pay off.
I'm all for taking in refugees - but the STEM argument is false, and gives companies increased incentive to hire outside of America.
34
If you want to talk so big, let them move into your home, you feed them, cloth them, and reimburse us for their free schooling, lunches, etc.
18
@ Anonymous Thank you for the correction. The evidence I have read apparently doesn't go to the level of comparing wages of STEM hires from visas granted to refugees and those awarded to "guest" workers expected to return to countries of origin. There are actually very few "refugees" who qualify to compete with US graduates in most STEM fields, but your comment is certainly a consideration for the "guest" worker STEM visas the large tech companies lobby Congress to continue which are being affected by the new religious vetting of Trump.
I wish you and your friends success in obtaining positions appropriate to your qualifications.
4
I am getting whiplash from all these comments.
It is true that there is a tremendous need in this country to feed the poor, the house the homeless, and take care of our veterans. That those who have fought for our country and freedom and all the great stuff in this "democracy" that we always gloat about on the world stage are inadequately honored and cared for makes me angry every time I think about it. There are apparently 33,000 homeless veterans in this country!!! And whose fault is that?
I applaud all the volunteers who are working so hard to make refugees feel welcome and have everything they need. But somehow, somewhere there is a disconnect. There is no reason at all that we can't do both. And by that I mean the government AND all our multi-millionaires and billionaires.
How about all the Bill Gates, Tom Steyer, Mark Zackerberg characters in this great nation, they could so EASILY step in and pick up some of the slack in this swampy administration.
37
How about Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers, the Mercers and the other Republicans who put millions towards a Republican takeover of local, state and national governments as well as court systems, instead spending some of their billions actually making life healthier, less hungry and better sheltered for all people in the US and on the planet? That would be a legacy to be proud of.
Bill and Melinda Gates have targeted global programs that are fighting diseases, making clean water, plumbing and lights available to people in the most remote parts of the world. They are also working to improve education for students in the US.
20
Lynda,
Don't forget that Sheldon Adelson paid a lot of money to the administration as well as helping pay for the U.S Embassy in Jerusalem...what a guy!
As for helping those less fortunate and doing it hard in the U.S...he's not interested in helping them.
During the democratic primaries, Martin O'Malley proposed re-settling Christian (Chaldean, Assyrian, Mandean etc) communities from Iraq and Syria in Detroit, in an effort to revitalize the city. No one from the left or the right accused O'Malley of being an Islamophobe for his proposal.
When VP Mike Pence proposed giving priority to those from these communities seeking asylum, he was pilloried as an irredeemable bigot.
Plenty of Americans, if not most, would like to help embattled and persecuted minorities who have no where else to turn and are otherwise defenseless. The Yazidis and tiny Christian communities of the middle east are both under threat of genocide, and fit this description. Sunni Arabs number roughly 800 million in the entire world. They are NOT a minority, and members of their group are the majority population, and ruling class of a whole host of nations, many of which are far greater enemies of the US than Russia or its citizens are. It's sad that the number of refugees admitted under Trump has fallen. But it never had to be this way.
40
I think this should be viewed as good news, not bad. It is democracy in action. This country voted in a president whose loudest promise and the one which garnered the most votes was to stop refugees and drastically slash the number of immigrants coming to the country. That’s the main reason Trump is president and both houses if congress are republican. And he is doing what he was elected to do. Will the country as a whole notice this reduction in immigration and refugees in five years from now, or a hundred, and wish we had more? Very very unlikely. Yes it violates some of the traditions from much different times. Yes it shows the falsity of myths we have about the reality of who we are. So what? About time. We are no longer desperately looking fir people to occupy the great plains. Not even evangelicals are seeking to be good christians, but why would anyone expect them to be. Let Democrats run on a platform of encouraging more refugees and immigrants. They will see their true base running to the republicans. But spare us the stupidity in articles like this
63
As I've pointed out before, Trump did not get the most votes. By your own reasoning, that makes Trump wrong.
34
There is nothing "stupid" about this article. Trump preyed on people's xenophobia--a common ploy of so-called 'populists'who always pit people against one another. The simple fact is that immigration enhances our economy. Those who come here, even those with low skill levels, are statistically more driven than their native-born counterparts, thus adding the crucial element of dynamism to our economy.
Native-born Americans have been growing more and more complacent--fewer cross state lines than ever before. So it was easy for Trump to rile up the couch-sitters and tell them that it was somebody else's fault that they weren't succeeding. But in the long run our economy will indeed miss those immigrants--and everyone will suffer for it.
29
This is a problem because....?
9
We have become so very small.
2
Shameful. Remember the St. Louis.
6
I cannot understand how American Jews can support these creepy policies when the America Firsters of the 1930s sealed the fate of myriad Jewish refugees who were turned away from the US to return to Europe and be killed by the Nazis. And for those who now express concern about America’s poor and homeless, how many of them recently cheered a trillion-dollar handout to the red-state rich and to corporations - one that is already being used as a reason for proposed cuts in support for healthcare, education and infrastructure?
Social capital and soft power are real and destroying them is ultimately very expensive. If the Administration wasn’t so proud of its leaders’ ignorance and so accepting of the President’s irrational animus toward Obama they’d acknowledge it.
I don’t care about DJT’s gauche behavior. It’s the cruel, cynical and corrupt policies of his administration that must be opposed, I’m no leftist - I’m an ex-Republican who wants to CONSERVE what is wonderful about America. Please stop the culture wars. Taking in several thousand desperate refugees is not having “open borders”.
Meanwhile, Scott Pruitt sends bills to taxpayers for an expensive dinner with a pedophile priest, so they can jointly celebrate their denial of climate science.
Nixon started the EPA. Eisenhower started the interstate highway system. George W Bush got Medicare to cover prescription drugs and supported worldwide AIDS treatment programs. Remember history and learn from it!
7
Can the New York Times publish the addresses of the empty apartments?
I know a lot of American citizens whose families have contributed a lot to this country, some of them veterans, who could use a nice place to live and some toys for their kids.
32
Trump convinces his supporters that immigrants and refugees have caused their plight while he runs his personal businesses from the White House and leverages this country to enrich himself. And I thought Newman and Redford pulled off the greatest con in The Sting.
4
Neither the Czech Republic -Ivana- nor Slovenia-Melania - sent America their very best.
2
Liberals are no doubt shocked by this "sad" news.
Oddly enough, no Democrats or liberal politicians are running on opening the spigot back up.
Why is that?
14
The trump adminstration is holding spaces open for refugees from Scandinavia, western Europe and the UK, as long as they're white, maybe eastern Europe if they're 8 or above in the looks department and Christian.
2
Thing is we dont NEED the refugees, we are not talking about a huge drop in vital meds coming in - And as far as the Muslim refugees, ask France and Germany how well such large numbers have assimilated there. We have enough immigrants to assimilate now. And if charity groups cant find anyone else to donate their stockpiles to, how about people living in Appalachia or the inner cities now, or returning vets?
19
The deep state at work?!
Reading a large number of comments where readers experessed the need for people in the US as who we should focus on first and foremost, I wonder what would Jesus do?
5
Just another typical cruel selfish act to score points with a base of voters who are ignorant. We are not talking about illegals we are talking about people who went about it the right way and then have the goal-posts moved back on them. Besides Native Americans we are all immigrants, but for the Trump supporter it's not about that. It's all about not letting people into the country that don't look like themselves.
4
Overseas war zone refugees nowadays tend to come from austere cultures (no pork allowed/handy; not as much sugary/salty junk to snack on) & faith lives that do not have the destructively self-numbing addictions & ailments that many of the US homeless and at least some Central American economic refugees are afflicted w/: alcoholism, illicit drug use, prescription drug abuse, gambling, borrowing/lending money w/ usurious interest rates to live beyond one's means, IQ-lowering lead/mercury/etc. industrialization-linked poisoning from prior housing/work, etc.
It may thus be wasteful to blindly redirect all those apartments, jobs, food, toys, etc. to US folks & Central Americans who stubbornly refuse to follow rules & best practices, such as: 1) leading addiction-free & debt-free lives w/ modest, living wage jobs they can handle, even if it means not living in big-name cities; 2) practicing safe sex & preventive birth control to stop having kids they can't feed/shelter w/o lifetime state help; 3) getting appropriate education to be employable - even if it means being in "demeaning" special ed, vocational trades, or (for Central Americans) intensive ESL learning, instead of demanding that everything has to be translated/dumbed down for them!
Many of the US homeless refuse shelter & want to live w/o rules & responsibilities, while many Central American economic migrants want the USA to eternally nanny them.
Heavily-vetted, less bratty war zone refugees shld be let in efficiently.*
3
The problem, as all know too well, is Republicans.
They are mean, nasty, selfish, anti-social people. If people is the correct word. Followers of the Republican religion (for that is what it is) are generally not even willing to forgo their religious beliefs for their own self interests.
Republican farmers would rather that their crops rot in the fields than help an foreigner.
Sick republicans would rather die than allow the "govnment" to provide medical care, especially if that care is provided by a "forgn" looking / sounding physician who graduated at the top of the class at some blue state med school like Harvard, Columbia, or Stamford.
These people are evil, un-American impediments to their own salvation. Starting with FDR, we have tried to help them, but they are beyond salvation.
I believe that they have a moral and constitutional right to their benighted beliefs and way of life. Let's implement the policies that they devoutly wish for. Cut federal expenditures as close to zero as possible.
Form Blue States, Inc. Have Blue States, Inc. provide the services that the federal government has abandoned. Let the services be free or low cost in member states, but charge red staters double or triple.
The problem will be solved in a generation or two as the Republicans die off. Then, perhaps, we can reinstitute a more civil union.
5
We have a presidency that has grown increasingly powerful, and this presidency in particular shows a need to re-examine the balance of powers.
1
Where I live our unemployment is about 3%. The people who work in regional and local development have stated that we need immigrants. Again and again i’m hearing from small business owners that they need help but there is no one who can pass a drug test, shows up on time or even shows up at all. Trump and others who are large enough and perhaps connected can bring in contract workers from overseas to work at Mar a largo and such but most companies can not.
The USA would be in a negative population situation were it not for immigration.
13
Negative population growth would be the best thing the u.s. or any other country could do for itself and the environment. Unless you've been preoccupied with short term thinking, the planet is undergoing climate change caused by humans, and our numbers, especially here in the west, (highest per capita co2 producers on earth) are the primary reason. Yes, negative popultion growth would be a good thing.
22
What kind of wages do they pay? Are they willing to hire someone with a record? Is the drug testing actually necessary? Too many employers are unwilling to pay a living wage and want to hire immigrants at lower wages. I am not terribly sympathetic to that argument.
13
That many in the U.S. prioritize refuges over millions of American citizens and legal residents is a major reason as to why the country is now stuck with Donald Trump.
America should stop worrying about refugees until it finds decent housing for its 500,000 plus homeless people; adequate health care for millions of working and unemployed lower income citizens and legal residents.
136
We can do both.
People used this same argument against the space program, but both priorities are definitely financially possible, it's just the political will that is missing.
22
Sounds good, Michael. Just pull up the trap door after you, since your immediate family members got in. I hope that if you leave Ottawa (is that Canada?) and end up in some place where you need help, no one comes to aid you.
13
There will always be people in poverty for a variety of reasons and of course we should address those issues. Welcoming refugees is a different issue. It is part of our national identity, supports our position that the rights we enjoy should be enjoyed by all peoples, and refugees are often successful contributing members of their community within a year. By 5 years they are opening businesses and seeking the American Dream. Come visit Buffalo if you don’t understand the incredibly positive impact of refugees on a community.
24
So rich a country materially; so poor in spirit. And no shame. Who are we? Could we recognize ourselves in the mirror, even tolerate the 'looking'?
20
Good point. We can now send everybody to Bolivia?
2
The GOP administrations jump right out of that graph.
1
If we turn back refugees, let's drop all talk of "American exceptionalism". We're just another selfish group out for ourselves and our own only; there's nothing exceptional about that.
100
" We're just another selfish group out for ourselves and our own only; there's nothing exceptional about that."
Yes, there is, Ilya.
We can be exceptionally good at it, hopefully.
5
Huh? Unless we confirm to your ideal of how the country should expend its limited resources were some how diminishing the American ideals? What hubris. Please feel free to spend your money how you see fit. Don't presume you know better than the rest of us.
13
Except the level of Greed, Selfishness and desire to make money regardless of the consequences or who may get hurt or harmed on the way.
America is most Exceptional in regards to the above, bar none, including its own!
3
I’m reading this after the extremely moving op doc by Samantha Powers about a Young Syrian refugee resettled in Canada. Send the stuff to Canada. I’m sure they can use it. We here in America have lost our way, our hearts and compassion.
11
As the Republican Congress and Trump shred the safety net that millions of US families depend on for basic needs of food, shelter, health care and opportunity to become educated and learn new skills, it does seem that are more US families living in poverty, abusing drugs and dying from diseases and injuries in the poor states (usually the Red states) which they would survive if they lived with better access to health care. Taxpayer funds should be spent on programs to support a safety net for those who are US residents.
If the US is a world power with good ethics which values the lives of humans wherever in the world they live, spending money on assisting those who are in need due to natural disasters, violence or social turmoil, a pandemic or any other major disruption to the lives of those who share our planet is essential to our national security. The US can spend billions on weapons, but it is the aid which is given when other counties are in need that will create strong allies.
Aiding people where they live during a natural disaster or when their government is dysfunctional due to violence is not possible. Administrations other than Trump's have found the means to properly "vet" refugees so they can come to the US and get help without being a danger. It is a lie, a myth, a fiction that refugees create more crime. The evidence is simply not there despite what Fox tells you.
Refugee programs to help people in need are the moral choice of a confident nation.
13
Yes. Bring more people here so they can settle in, marry and have children and then refuse to go home when the emergency we helped them through is over.
No! Help them where they're at so they can't bully us into allowing them to stay.
5
If refugees came here from Norway, the Trump GOP government would fall over themselves begging them to stay and promising quick vetting.
11
Not one child, elder or vet in this country should be homeless or hungry or without proper clothing. Just saying.
29
KT--If we tax the rich, appropriately, progressively, we can have everything we want. Just saying... Got facts?
3
I designed the software which is used to place refugees and track all them from start to placement which can take as long as 24 months while they are vetted. There are organizations which have been around for 70+ years placing refugees in the United States beginning with Holocaust survivors to Vietnamese to Syrian and Iraqi refugees. There has never been a case of a single terroristic attack undertaken by a relocated refugee during that entire time.
These organizations were created to find people around the world living under horrible circumstance and offer them a chance of survival. The total number of possible refugee relocations is set at the State Department and represents a rounding error compared with the actual number of people living through war and other unimaginable circumstances. Many wait and wait and are sometimes rejected while others who are considered a better fit for success make it to America where they are placed with a local church or agency somewhere in America. They must repay their transportation costs within two years. They do not live on welfare. Some have gone on to start companies like Chobani and Google.
This is America, and while there are a minority of voices who say America First, I will bet their families came to America as immigrants and were afforded the opportunity to escape some condition which led them here. Tear down the Statue of Liberty if you believe differently. Isolationism will never work. Trump does not understand this process.
43
Thank you. You have expressed this better than I ever could. And let's not forget that many of these refugees are the result of OUR having created the unimaginable conditions in which they live, with our false "weapons of mass destruction," and the false connection of Iraq with 9/11. None of the hijackers was an Iraqi. NONE. Thank you for your insight. And for the facts, which our current president seems not to know.
90
" Tear down the Statue of Liberty"
Hand me the torch. Have you any idea of the value of scrap copper? Then we'll bring the old name of the island back, Bedloe's Island.
3
Totally agree! Those hijackers were mostly from Saudi Arabia, which is also radical Islam's central location,
which has exported and established madrases in the Middle East to indoctrinate needy boys to become terrorists. You know, the country we are now selling arms to and where the Trump org. has investments.
American isolationism continues unabated. Send the teaming masses, yearning to be free to Canada -- we will welcome them with open arms and hearts.
14
At 1/10th the u.s. population you can say that now. This will change. Africa alone produces 30 million net, extra people per year. It already has millions more than it can support. Is Canada ready to take all them in? If not, you are just grand standing.
39
Remember when Saint Ronnie cut family planning in the 3rd world because they might just mention gasp! abortion. The same with the other Republican administrations. What did they think would happen.
A capital idea! We can empty our prisons and asylums like Castro did to us. That should cure you of your altruism.
3
One of the defining values of the United States has been its compassion toward those fleeing war and persecution. Almost every one of the ethnic or religious groups that arrived in the U.S. at some point faced exploitation and discrimination. And every group had some bad apples who committed crimes.
But the vast majority of refugees, driven by horrific experiences few Americans can truly understand, have adopted America with passion and loyalty. Through sacrifice, determination and hard work they have created a better life, not always for themselves (as many lose so much in the process of becoming a refugee) but for their children.
This reality predates the formal institution of the refugee program back to the nation’s founding. It courses through Americans DNA alongside native Americans, African slaves, Chinese, Irish, Italian, Mexican, laborers and interred Japanese—to name but a fraction of those who faced hatred, fear, ignorance and exploitation.
America has elected a racist is President. And he has summoned America’s darker side. The refugee program, and America’s role in leading other nations to admit refugees, has been abandoned. But America’s long struggle with race, religion and ethnic identity continues. These extraordinary times presents each of us with a defining opportunity to choose what side of America’s history we want for our children.
36
Amen.
4
Great! These people can fix their own countries. If apartments are stocked and all of these services are stagnant, how about using these resources to help some of the desperate homeless families right here in the U.S.? I'm sure some of those kids would love a toy to play with, and it would give them some needed stability until their parents can get back on their feet. America first.
85
In most places in the US housing policy is designed expressly to prevent construction of housing for the poor. The idea that diverting resources for refugees to the poor who will then be met with open arms into middle class neighborhoods has no data to support it.
4
I am filled with deep sadness by this story. I am greatly moved by the plight of refugees, and it is essential that generosity toward people in need must remain a core American value.
When President Trump tried to implement his original Muslim Travel Ban, my wife and I joined a thousand other protesters (including our Democratic mayor) at the Syracuse airport.
I'm a classical musician, and last summer, I got together with some friends to organize a benefit chamber music concert to raise money and awareness for the "Center for New Americans" at InterFaith Works, a model resettlement program for refugees which has garnered national attention. We had a wonderful spokesperson from their program--a refugee himself who now helps others resettle successfully in our country. I was proud that we filled the house for the concert, and raised a few thousand dollars for their worthy program.
I am infuriated that this Administration is ruining the lives of tens of thousands of desperate people (and probably placing many of their lives in jeopardy) through intolerance and xenophobia. We can protest, we can write angry letters, we can call our unresponsive Republican Congressman, but none of it really matters, because it all falls on deaf ears.
As with so many other pressing issues today, the only remedy here is political: we need to vote Trump and his Republican enablers out of office. We need to flip the House and Senate this November, and win back the White House in 2020.
22
Is anyone really surprised by this? For the most part, the United States created these refugees by starting and continuing wars in their countries. I am especially dismayed by the Iraqi and Afghani people who used their skills, whether translation or otherwise, to assist our military forces, and were PROMISED refugee status. Their families were threatened and sometimes killed because they "aided and abetted the enemy"--i.e., U.S. troops. Their own lives were in jeopardy. The military people with whom they worked have begged the government to allow them to come here, most times to no avail.
As for the people who say, "There are plenty of people already here who need a safe place to live and help with the rent, etc., and hopefully these agencies and volunteers will help them..." That's just what Trump and his rich cronies want, isn't it? Cut taxes, give benefits to the richest of the rich, don't ask THEM to do anything for the poorest of the poor in this country, leave it to the not-for-profit agencies and the goodness of the heart of the REST OF US, who give, give, give, while the rich are the takers, not the needy. The tax cut helps corporations, not people. Oh, I forgot: corporations are people.
The U.S. created much of this refugee situation. Why are we not responding in kind?
44
So much of what you say has merit. But America didn’t start the Arab spring, nor did they destroy Syria, Libya, Yemen, the ravaged areas and people of Sudan, Kenya, Indonesia and so forth.
Iraq? Oh yes, the catastrophe of Cheney’s desire for empire? We broke it, we’ve had to own it, and we provided money and support while they held elections, filled the country with corruption and army leaders that were family relations, not warriors. As a result, ISIS enjoyed the corruption like no other. They had billions in found equipment and structure and weapons, established a caliphate of sorts with looted banks and taxes, and trained mujahideen terrorists to infiltrate refugee populations, and have begun attacking the EU, UK, Australia, North America. France lost 245 people last year. One beleaguered security service roared mightily at their politicians who claimed maybe counter terrorism operatives should have been “watching”. They shot back “We have identified 23,000 high risk migrants from political Islam’s terrorist units. Where should we start!“ Whoops.
A mess of good intentions gone wrong, misplaced guilt over recent colonialism while ignoring colonial pasts of migrant nations who killed 270 million over 1400 years. 80 million Hindus fell over dead in gratitude, I suppose, at the sight of the sword of political Islam. One side takes responsibility far beyond its actual culpability, while the other is seen as without similar sins in its background.
That’s foolish.
7
The NC governor has just suggested that the state cancels the tax cut for those whose income is over $200,000. and gives the monies to the school system instead. What do you think chances are for that happening.
1
It's about time. The u.s. has the most generous resettlement policy on earth. So generous that we are now the third most populous country on earth. The idea that we can endlessly absorb all the people on earth who have a reason to leave their home country is long past. Help them solve their problems at home. This will be expensive and difficult, but moving them here, while we have millions of people that need these resources here, is an antiquated idea that has to end. There are 700 million people on the planet living on less than 2$/day. Shall we take them all in?
53
Yes, the U.S. is the third most populous country after India and China. However, you forgot to mention that the population density (number of people per square mile) of India is 973, that of China is 373, and for the U.S. it is 85. The U.S. has a population density lower than 178 other countries and territories out of 241 listed.
While these numbers are from a 2005 United Nations report, it's unlikely that the position of the U.S. on the list has changed significantly one way or the other.
As far as refugees go, according to the United Nations High Council on Refugees, in 2015 .84 of every 1,000 U.S. inhabitants was a refugee. Seventy-four other countries, including most industrialized countries, had a higher percentage of refugees among their population than did the U.S. Many of the countries with the highest number of refugees were among the world's poorest, largely because they are the countries nearest to the countries the refugees are fleeing. Contrary to what some believe, most refugees do not want to come to the west but would rather return to their home countries. Second choice would be to find new lives in countries similar to their home countries; the west--North America and Europe--becomes the choice primarily for those who are desperate.
3
We need porous borders around the world to allow human evolution to evolve.
1
This slowdown—really a de facto shutdown—is causing untold suffering among vulnerable, traumatized people. It slides under the radar because it’s not as dramatic as announcing a “Muslim ban,” but it’s a clear example of how every single day, while we focus on the top-level craziness of Trump and his cohorts, his Administration’s daily work hurts ordinary people.
Please hurry, Bob Mueller!
35
Give the apartments to homeless US Veterans. Give the toys to poor US children.
Problem solved.
98
But shouldn’t they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps?
17
I think you mean problem deferred.
4
Sarah: a great response!
This country has become unrecognizable to me.
As usual, the squeaky wheel extremists are the loudest here and get the most oil ie coverage.
The extreme left wants to take in every immigrant, asylum seeker and put them all on welfare.
The extreme right wants to end all immigration unless it is from lily white countries like Norway.
How about a sane, fair immigration policy?
26
Paul,
I guess by "the extreme left" you mean that fanatical socialist--The Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Showing concern for people in need around the world isn't just some "extreme left wing talking point," it's a CORE AMERICAN VALUE. Our soldiers have died for it.
Our great, rich nation of 300 million people can easily afford to admit 50,000-100,000 refugees each year. As this article explains, we already have the resettlement services in place. And studies have shown that, over time, refugees are even a good financial investment for our country, as they become productive workers and help to generate positive economic activity for everyone.
Generosity should be our nation's greatest virtue, while Diversity has always been our greatest strength.
17
The Statue of Liberty, more than anything that Trump’s xenophobic idiots stand for, is what made America great. Until the spirit reflected in Emma Lazarus’ poem “Colosus” is restored and enacted in every corner of this land, we will not be great again, let alone ever. The non-partisan and unimpassioned hand of demography is what has solved every challenge this country has faced, from building transcontinental rails to conquering space. By definition, conservatives hate change and progress - too comfortable, lazy and uninspired to take on any kind of challenge. The pioneers and their pioneering spirit came from immigrants. Failure to understand this cultural history will continue the path we are now on of becoming a failed culture, economy and nation.
1
The cheesy poem on the state of Liberty is not u.s. policy and never has been. It was also placed there when we had 1/6th the population we have now. If it's still such a great idea let the French take them I'm. Oh wait they're already enjoying the fruits of mass immigration now.
Stephen Miller, President Trumps own Grima Wormtongue, tirelessly at work.
10
There are some low income citizens in the US whose circumstances and prospects could be much improved by taking these apartments and using the support structure set up for new refugees.
55
Won't happen. The money will not be re-purposed. And refugees are supported for three months; the apartments paid for only that amount of time (if even that), and, they have to be self-sufficient through work after that.
even if the money were repurposed, you would have people out on the street again in three months.
3
Thanks, NYT, for reporting on this.
Starving a government agency of necessary funds is a standard GOP tactic to accomplish political goals that cannot be accomplished through legislation.
Note that the GOP is also using this strategy to cripple the IRS (to reduce audits of corporations and the 1%), the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, the EPA and FDA (to reduce inconvenient regulations) and the upcoming 2020 Census (in order to facilitate undercounting of Democratic-leaning populations and areas).
13
I was waiting to see how long it would take for a commenter to say "forget those refugees, we have people in need here in the US that we need to focus on instead" - & the answer is: the very 1st one.
Why must it be "instead"? Do we not, as the richest society in the world, have the capacity to help more than just "our own"? And if not - who decides who is in need? You say there are plenty of people already here who need a safe place to live & affordable heath & child care... indeed. But then someone could tell you - what about the person who has no health care at all? Isn't that person more in need than the person who needs affordable health care? The person who needs a safe place to live - isn't there someone who needs ANY place to live? And so on & so on & so on until we find the ONE person in the US who is the most worst off, so to speak - and then that's the person we help?
Refugees are fleeing the most horrible circumstances anyone could imagine, much worse than almost any of us here in the US can even wrap our heads around - they've lost absolutely everything, including often spouses, children, entire families. In many cases female refugees accepted for resettlement have survived unspeakable sexual violence. Dont they, too, need a "safe place to live"?
We are all humans. Humans lucky enough to have more - to have been born in a country that hasn't experienced war on its mainland since the 1800s - can and should help other humans who havent been so lucky. Period.
174
I disagree. We have limited resources and must spend those resources on our own. The U.S. has a responsibility to it's own people first, and exclusively if need be. The next logical step in your flawed reasoning is that you want to raise my taxes in order to "help both." Not gonna happen.
61
Ok, give us the number and who gets to come and who gets left behind. Tell us exactly how many of the 10s of millions of poor, unhappy, desperate, in danger, unemployed, etc, etc people around the world we should take in? The supply is limitless. We are not an empty continent and haven't been for 100 years. We are the third most populous country on earth, 5% of the worlds population using 25% of its resources. This is unsustainable. It's time to help these people solve their problems at home. Moving everyone to the west is no longer viable.
63
I appreciate the sentiment, but there are BILLIONS of people in the world who are living in poor circumstances. Where do we draw the line? This country simply cannot afford to help everyone in need, and frankly I'm not sure we have an obligation to do so. The well-being of our own citizens should always come first.
54
The "great enthusiasm" of volunteers need not go to waste because of a lack of refugees.
It should be redirected to efforts to help Americans in need, particularly in poor rural and inner city areas.
Of course, the sponsoring organizations won't get financial reimbursements from the government. But that was never the point, right?
67
The sponsoring organizations MUST get financial reimbursement from the government or they can't do it.
It is very little, actually that was spent on refugees, then they had to be self-sufficient through work.
9
Yes, I'll bet all those church groups were just in this for the big bucks. Pretend to help people, while really skimming money for yourself - oh wait, that's our President I'm thinking of.
7
How about giving to poor families already in the US? There are millions of poverty-stricken Americans who need help.
64
The social services agency I work for has many homes housing families who are homeless. They would love to have an affordable place to live. We have so many of our own citizens who are in need.
58
As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, this fills me with sadness, fear and anger. As a nation, we have failed those whose lives were in danger many times. That we have not only not learned from our failure to save those in peril but have doubled down on our heartlessness leaves me bereft.It seems we will never learn, never move past our tribalism and fear and will continue to allow innocent people to be slaughtered, to starve, to suffer.
I am embarrassed to be an American.
143
It wouldn't be a bad thing if you moved somewhere else. We could use less right wingers here.
I feel the same way. America is the light of the world except now our light has gone out. We should be able to help our own poor and the displaced from other countries. What else does it mean to be the strongest nation in the world. Trump is a very very weak man who is afraid of anything truthful. I am embarrassed to know that millions of people in this country like him and support his many terrible policies mostly because they don't like democrats. Wow.
16
I sympathize with the circumstances refugees are in and with people who take risks to come to this country. But I am also very aware of the amount of need that is growing in communities all over this country, sometimes hidden in plain view. There are plenty of people already here who need a safe place to live and help with the rent and affordable health care and child care. Hopefully these agencies and volunteers will turn their efforts to helping the needy in their own communities.
97
The reason for this increasing need is that the current government is focused solely on making the President and his buddies richer, while neglecting or actively damaging the social services that otherwise would help those in need in our society.
26
We can do multiple things at the same time. Refugee Resettlement agencies do provide services to the broader community.
22
Yes, there is need here. Preventing refugees from entering the U. S. is not going to do the smallest bit to change that, however. The only people being "helped" by the Trump administration are rich Americans who have just received a more than generous tax cut at the expense of all the rest of us.
15