Shutting Out Refugees Puts the US on Wrong Side

Governors throughout the United States offer panicked proposals after the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 125. Most of the attackers were French citizens; one carried a passport, suggesting he had entered Europe as a refugee. Some governors reject a US federal government plan to accept thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. Fear is natural, explains an editorial in the Morning Sentinel of Maine, though notions of religious tests are repugnant. “Since it is difficult to tell real refugees from impostors, the argument goes, the U.S. can’t risk helping any of them,” the editorial notes. “This is ridiculous. If they had been pretending to be tourists instead of migrants, would we end tourism? If they had been hiding in cargo ships, would we stop world trade?” Governments cannot ensure complete protection against terrorists. Citizens and their leaders must demonstrate courage in protecting the rule of law, values and a way of life. – YaleGlobal