The Refugee Project

Humanitarian Perspective:

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 Russell Moore, an American evangelical theologian, who writes an article, “Stop pitting security and compassion against each other in the Syrian refugee crisis”, for the Washington Post explains why it is best to accept refugees from the humanitarian point of view . He understands that human lives are very precious, and believes the best way to protect the most people would be to accept refugees. Similarly, Emily Cintora, who writes for the Kennedy School Review in her article "Refugees or Terrorists? Redefining Material Support under the Patriot Act" explains how the anti-terror laws need to be updated to account for those refugees escaping global terror, and make it easier for women and children to flee to safety. The Humanitarian perspective, as the name implies, is looking out for those who are the most vulnerable, and trying to keep them safe.

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Political Perspective:

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This perspective focuses more on the political argument for the acceptance of refugees, and as Michael Ignatieff would put it; the chance to improve the region and gain a political foot hold there. The argument being that by helping with refugees you help the governments who are struggling to deal with this crisis, making them think of the United Stares fondly. Another similar view is that it would also weaken ISIS's foothold in the region as well, as Kurt Eichenwald puts it in his article "To Defeat ISIS, Know Thy Terrorist" by taking away refugees from the crowded camps life becomes more comfortable for the refugees. They have more space and supplies can be shared more evenly. By improving their lives in the camps organizations like ISIS or other terrorist groups are less attractive than the camps, decreasing the radicalization rates in the camps.

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Anti-Refugee Perspective:

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This largely has to do with our national security, and believing that refugees open America to unpredictable attacks from terrorist groups. Andrew McCarthy writes about this exact theory in his article "The Controversy over Syrian Refugees Misses the Question We Should Be Asking". He does not think that the refugee pathways are at all secure, and we would be inviting attacks if we were to accept refugees, no matter how hard we vet them. Most Americans also tend to agree with this statement, if we look at polling gathered by Elizabeth McElvein after the attacks on Paris by ISIS Americans have become a lot less welcoming of refugees. Americans are largely scared because they don't know who the threat is, and they think that by banning all Muslims they can make sure that their families and  they are safe.

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