During World World II thousands of Jews seeked refuge from Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. At this point in time many countries did not want to accept large amounts of Jewish refugees, including the United States. However, many Jews still made the effort to make the journey to America in hopes of getting an asylum. Back then, American immigration policies denied many Jews access. Now, the Syrian refugees who are trying to elude ISIS and the war zone that has consumed their homeland are either being denied entry completely or have to meet certain requirements in order to gain entry into the United States. We saw what happened to the Jews that were denied access, so why is the concept of letting in Syrian refugees into our country so hard for
…show more content…
“America’s traditional policy of open immigration had ended when Congress enacted restrictive immigration quotas in 1921 and 1924... “After the stock market crash of 1929, rising unemployment caused restrictionist sentiment to grow, and President Herbert Hoover ordered vigorous enforcement of visa regulations.” (“American Response to the Holocaust”) People looking for refuge could not even obtain the visas they needed. “By early 1939, more than 300,000 people were on the waiting list to receive a visa to the United States, Breitman wrote.” (“Syrian refugees ' story mimics struggles by Anne Frank 's family 75 years ago” Washington Post) Even if some Jews were trying as hard as they could to elude the Nazi regime, it could not happen. America did not pay attention to the severity of the issue. Had we payed attention and changed our customs to accept them, there would have probably been more lives saved. Also, America had a general idea of what was going on in Germany, yet it tooks years for us to act. We did not want to “get involved.” It was not until the Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941 that we got involved in World War II. However, by the time we started liberating Jews, millions of people had already died, including those that we turned …show more content…
Things have changed a bit, but not without disagreement. The Syrian refugees are experiencing major difficulties to gain entry into the United States. Even though many state governors are opposing taking in Syrian refugees, President Obama has plans to accept thousands. “The Refugee Act of 1980 dictates that refugee resettlement within the United States is managed by the federal government… Individual states do not have the legal authority to block refugee placement.” (“GOP governors threaten to halt Syrian refugee resettlement in their states” Associated Press) Many are saying that the participants of the Paris attacks were hidden amongst the thousands of Syrian refugees. State governors are using what happened in Paris as a reason to justify why we should not allow them to stay in the United States. They have been very outspoken on their thoughts of Syrian refugees settling in their states. The governor of Indiana even went as far as saying “The program is designed to work "on a collaborative basis between the federal government and states," Pence declared. "What we 've essentially said is, 'We 're not collaborating with you.’” (“GOP governors threaten to halt Syrian refugee resettlement in their states” Associated Press) President Obama then answered saying "Slamming the door in their faces would be a
“America’s traditional policy of open immigration had ended when Congress enacted restrictive immigration quotas in 1921 and 1924... “After the stock market crash of 1929, rising unemployment caused restrictionist sentiment to grow, and President Herbert Hoover ordered vigorous enforcement of visa regulations.” (“American Response to the Holocaust”) People looking for refuge could not even obtain the visas they needed. “By early 1939, more than 300,000 people were on the waiting list to receive a visa to the United States, Breitman wrote.” (“Syrian refugees ' story mimics struggles by Anne Frank 's family 75 years ago” Washington Post) Even if some Jews were trying as hard as they could to elude the Nazi regime, it could not happen. America did not pay attention to the severity of the issue. Had we payed attention and changed our customs to accept them, there would have probably been more lives saved. Also, America had a general idea of what was going on in Germany, yet it tooks years for us to act. We did not want to “get involved.” It was not until the Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941 that we got involved in World War II. However, by the time we started liberating Jews, millions of people had already died, including those that we turned …show more content…
Things have changed a bit, but not without disagreement. The Syrian refugees are experiencing major difficulties to gain entry into the United States. Even though many state governors are opposing taking in Syrian refugees, President Obama has plans to accept thousands. “The Refugee Act of 1980 dictates that refugee resettlement within the United States is managed by the federal government… Individual states do not have the legal authority to block refugee placement.” (“GOP governors threaten to halt Syrian refugee resettlement in their states” Associated Press) Many are saying that the participants of the Paris attacks were hidden amongst the thousands of Syrian refugees. State governors are using what happened in Paris as a reason to justify why we should not allow them to stay in the United States. They have been very outspoken on their thoughts of Syrian refugees settling in their states. The governor of Indiana even went as far as saying “The program is designed to work "on a collaborative basis between the federal government and states," Pence declared. "What we 've essentially said is, 'We 're not collaborating with you.’” (“GOP governors threaten to halt Syrian refugee resettlement in their states” Associated Press) President Obama then answered saying "Slamming the door in their faces would be a