Well Informed: Syria and Immigration 

Syria and immigration seems to be a tough topic to discuss because it's been a huge highlight in the presidential race with Trump and Hillary. It's also hard for me, personally, to take a side on this issue. Society within the U.S. is wary of letting in Syrian refugees because of the issue of terrorism and national security.

National security should always be a top priority, but that doesn't mean kindness should dwindle. The U.S. has been well-known to let in refugees and provide aid to foreign countries over the years. An article in The Atlantic caught my attention when the writer talked about this same issue and tried to answer the question: Can ISIS terrorists really infiltrate the Syrian refugee program?

The writer states the following:

As U.S. officials and refugee advocates point out, that has never happened in modern history. Not when the U.S. took in tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s. Not when 125,000 Cuban “Marielitos” arrived by boat in 1980. And not in the desperate aftermath of more recent wars in Bosnia, Somalia, or Rwanda. “Those fears have proven unfounded,” said John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE who previously served as a top lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security.

I understand letting too many refugees in may pose a threat, but I also think it's important to look at the history of the U.S. and whether or not we've been successful in helping other countries. I think the U.S. will always carry a fear of helping out foreign countries too much, especially after 911.