“Every moment counts. Every second matters”-Elie Wiesel. During WWII and the Holocaust, American politicians avoided and actively ignored the harm caused to Jews in Europe, delaying help. Instead of allowing more immigrants and creating plans for refugees, the State Department, supported by the majority of Americans, ignored the problem and made it harder for immigrants and refugees to enter America. They were unable to escape persecution through quotas and excessive screening just because of anti-immigrant and anti-semitic views. Instead on focusing on the main issues, Roosevelt was concerned with politics, valuing policies over human lives. Anti-semitism was widespread not only in the State Department, but also the view of the majority of
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At the time, America was very anti-semitic, so Roosevelt believed he needed to convince Americans that the solution to the Jewish question would help Christians as well as Jews(Breitman 156). He was more concerned with the long term implications politically of his actions than an immediate rescue to save lives and limited the number of refugees accepted for political success. Southern democrats and conservative republicans did not support the refugees and trying to save the jews, so he did not commit either way to risk losing support during the midterm elections. Many Americans at the time believed, “Italians and Russian Jews, along with other immigrants, were genetically inferior and through inbreeding threatened to mongrelize the American population”("Nativism versus Immigration”). The fear of Jews limited what could be done to help them because of the risk of lost political support. Roosevelt also lost a lot of midterm elections, limiting the control he had in the house and senate(Breitman 204). The loss of major control made it harder for bills to be passed to increase the immigration of refugees. Roosevelt was afraid that he would further divide the country by raising controversial ideas, which would limit his chance for reelection. His limited investment in the Jewish refugees was mocked as the “Jew Deal,” further limiting his support(Wyman 337). Roosevelt also …show more content…
The government increased security of immigrants because they feared spies and the fifth column(Breitman 166). The majority of Americans believed it was a trade off between protecting the nation and rescuing refugees, so they limited visas. Visas now could only be given out if there were absolutely no concerns about the refugee, they had a reason to enter the US , and they were authorized by Washington. The government also created the Refugee Rule which created stricter policies for refugees with relatives in Germany, Italy, for Russia(Wyman 125). These refugees had additional security screening because the government believed they were being blackmailed into being spies by having their families threatened. The application took nine months for a normal application to be screened, and even longer for an enemy alien, who had an even small chance of being approved(Wyman 127). When the applications were finally analyzed, the people impacted were often already deported or dead. Additionally, the visa application was four feet long, with text on both sides(Wyman 127). One side needed to be filled out by the refugee and the other side by the agency, limiting immigration to people who could fill out the form and got accepted. The State Department failed to increase the availability of immigration to refugees but further
At the time, America was very anti-semitic, so Roosevelt believed he needed to convince Americans that the solution to the Jewish question would help Christians as well as Jews(Breitman 156). He was more concerned with the long term implications politically of his actions than an immediate rescue to save lives and limited the number of refugees accepted for political success. Southern democrats and conservative republicans did not support the refugees and trying to save the jews, so he did not commit either way to risk losing support during the midterm elections. Many Americans at the time believed, “Italians and Russian Jews, along with other immigrants, were genetically inferior and through inbreeding threatened to mongrelize the American population”("Nativism versus Immigration”). The fear of Jews limited what could be done to help them because of the risk of lost political support. Roosevelt also lost a lot of midterm elections, limiting the control he had in the house and senate(Breitman 204). The loss of major control made it harder for bills to be passed to increase the immigration of refugees. Roosevelt was afraid that he would further divide the country by raising controversial ideas, which would limit his chance for reelection. His limited investment in the Jewish refugees was mocked as the “Jew Deal,” further limiting his support(Wyman 337). Roosevelt also …show more content…
The government increased security of immigrants because they feared spies and the fifth column(Breitman 166). The majority of Americans believed it was a trade off between protecting the nation and rescuing refugees, so they limited visas. Visas now could only be given out if there were absolutely no concerns about the refugee, they had a reason to enter the US , and they were authorized by Washington. The government also created the Refugee Rule which created stricter policies for refugees with relatives in Germany, Italy, for Russia(Wyman 125). These refugees had additional security screening because the government believed they were being blackmailed into being spies by having their families threatened. The application took nine months for a normal application to be screened, and even longer for an enemy alien, who had an even small chance of being approved(Wyman 127). When the applications were finally analyzed, the people impacted were often already deported or dead. Additionally, the visa application was four feet long, with text on both sides(Wyman 127). One side needed to be filled out by the refugee and the other side by the agency, limiting immigration to people who could fill out the form and got accepted. The State Department failed to increase the availability of immigration to refugees but further