The number of refugees in America has dropped by a rattling 87,000 people since 1995, and the number of immigrants has also dropped significantly by 33,000 people.
Throughout history, the U.S. has been a sanctuary and a “Melting Pot” for people from all different cultures and ethnicities. However, in the past few years, America has swayed from its origins, and focused solely on itself, rather than the world around them.
The view of many Americans is that refugees and immigrants are making the U.S. prone terrorist attacks and crime. What most of these people are unaware of is that not all immigrants and refugees are terrorists; in fact, the majority of them are not.
However, even when people are informed of this, they still discriminate against the foreigners entering “their homeland”. But wasn’t America once the Native Americans’ home? Has everyone simply forgotten that all Americans are immigrants to this land? So, who are we to deny others entry to the U.S., when weren’t denied entry almost 300 years ago?
The Huffington Post credits Thomas Jefferson, one of the most influential founding fathers, with saying, “The present desire of America is to produce rapid population by as great importations of foreigners as possible.” Jefferson reminds us that America was formed on the immigration of peoples from all diverse cultures. This is a timeless ideal that should always remain prevalent.
Focusing on the present, there are around 2.5 million refugees in Turkey, in need of a sanctuary during the continuous bombings. But due to the cost and restrictions of the U.S. immigration system, seeking an asylum is useless, according to PBS.
Therefore, if we really want to “Make America Great Again”, why don’t we reflect on the ideals our founding fathers formed this country on, and welcome refugees and immigrants to the home we call America.