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HAPPENING NOW: Republicans make the case for #refugees. With panelists @KoriSchake, @OliviaEnos, @RosLehtinen, and @KDPinDC Moderated by @mlacorte_.
Tune in, or follow along as we live-tweet the highlights via this thread! https://www.niskanencenter.org/zoom-briefing-influential-republicans-make-their-case-for-admitting-more-refugees/
Tune in, or follow along as we live-tweet the highlights via this thread! https://www.niskanencenter.org/zoom-briefing-influential-republicans-make-their-case-for-admitting-more-refugees/
. @KoriSchake says that the idea that "refugees are dangerous" is nonsense. It's a pernicious myth that has gotten a great deal of traction under the #TrumpAdministration (which has taken over 400 executive actions to restrict refugee admissions).
40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants...immigrants in general and refugees in particular embody a constant renewal of the American spirit. While we are not going to go into the economics of refugees, there's definitely a practical case to be made.
@KDPinDC explains how the executive branch has botched the consultation process this year for establishing #refugee caps. https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-refugee-consultation-process-has-failed-heres-how-congress-can-reassert-authority/
Asylum seekers and refugees are legally very distinct populations, explains @KDPinDC. The way that the refugee caps were created this year, the two populations are incorrectly inflated.
This may unintentionally result in the refugee process supplanting the asylum process.
This may unintentionally result in the refugee process supplanting the asylum process.
. @OliviaEnos: It's time for the Trump administration to call a spade a spade and to call the Chinese Communist Party's treatment of the #Uighurs cultural genocide. The U.S. refugee admissions program is a very practical way we can respond to these injustices.
. @OliviaEnos: To extend refugee status to #Uighurs and Hong Kongers is in U.S. interests.
@RosLehtinen: "We need to showcase individual stories and make the connection locally, community by community, to show the very tangible benefits that #refugees can bring."
. @RosLehtinen: "My own family came from Cuba. There are so many Ileana's around, and they are waiting to contribute to the communities here in the U.S."
. @OliviaEnos: It's unfortunate how silent countries around the world have been about the persecution of the #Uighurs. One way to get the U.S. to prioritize their admission as refugees is to adopt an "atrocity determination." #RefugeesWelcome
. @AEI's @KoriSchake: It is in the U.S. interests to be seen as a force for positive good. That's who we are as a political culture. If we lose that, we will lose our global identity.
. @AEI's @KoriSchake: Refugees are victims, not perpetrators. There's a huge difference between people who perpetrate violence and people who fight violence. We want to be on the side of liberation, and that means we are automatically on the side of #refugees.
. @KDPinDC: We're in a unique position to not just rebuild the 2016 status quo, but to think about how refugee admissions could be better for the coming decades.
It's going to take a long time to rebuild some of the international infrastructure to process refugees. It's going to take funding from Congress. It makes sense to include American communities into these efforts of resettlement.
Being open to rebuilding means being open to reform. @OliviaEnos highlights private resettlement options that highlight community engagement. https://www.heritage.org/immigration/report/the-us-refugee-admissions-program-roadmap-reform
For more on community resettlement, check out these articles by @MLaCorte_
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-case-for-expanding-community-sponsorship-of-refugees/ https://www.niskanencenter.org/using-our-communities-the-power-of-charity-in-refugee-resettlement/
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-case-for-expanding-community-sponsorship-of-refugees/ https://www.niskanencenter.org/using-our-communities-the-power-of-charity-in-refugee-resettlement/
And that's a wrap! Thank you to all of our panelists and attendees for this rich discussion. We'll have a recording available on our website soon!
For more on the foreign policy benefits of refugee resettlement, check out this paper by @IdeanSalehyan: https://niskanencenter.org/blog/new-research-paper-the-strategic-case-for-refugee-resettlement/
For more on the foreign policy benefits of refugee resettlement, check out this paper by @IdeanSalehyan: https://niskanencenter.org/blog/new-research-paper-the-strategic-case-for-refugee-resettlement/
