A Perspective on the Syrian Refugee Asylum Decision for Alaska

Tom Anderson ~ Jonathan Greenberg, Senior Vice-President of Salomon Center, a national Middle East policy think tank, was a guest on my radio program on Wednesday November 18th. He made some instructive points about the Syrian refugee issue that Alaskans, and all Americans, may find of value.

To begin, Greenberg is legitimately torn about the Syrian crisis. He thinks it’s important (especially for those who feel strongly that the United States shouldn’t be allowing Syrian refugees into the country) to acknowledge what’s going on in Syria and the terrible violence to which refugees have been subjected. Any of us, were we in their shoes, might legitimately want to get out of the country, too; and as fast as possible. That said, of the many listeners we heard from, 100% of the callers want Governor Bill Walker to reject any Syrian refugees’ migration to Alaska.

As of this evening, 31 governors have announced they will do what they can to bar Syrian asylum-seekers from their respective states. It’s a loud, clear, but ultimately reactive message after Islamic militants murdered 129 Parisians on Friday.

Statistically, the United States has accepted very few Middle Eastern asylum applicants but the Obama Administration did agree to take in 10,000 Syrians by the end of 2016. Some of those Syrians may be directed to Alaska.

In the interview, Greenberg also painted the other perspective, and one based on trends and precedence. “I don’t know, if at all – in modern history, we’ve ever relocated an entire population of people. We’re talking about – well over a million and a half or more people; that we’ve ever relocated them as refugees so far away, in such large numbers, so far away from the area that they’re refugees from,” he said. He added “The idea that we’re taking them into the West, when other countries in the region are taking absolutely no one is, I think, something for us to all to be concerned about.”

Will the Syrian asylum-seekers be a security threat? Are they likely to grow into a security threat once they’re in Alaska? These are relevant questions Greenberg poses to the nation and federal leadership. Further, he notes we shouldn’t do anything immediately and rather have the discussion and assess this publicly, and “in an atmosphere where we’re not comparing the situation to the Holocaust; we’re not foaming at the mouth about it; not freaking out about it; but we’re actually discussing it.” That discussion, he believes, should include the terrible circumstances and heartbreaking realities of the environment from which the Syrians are coming.

Greenberg reminded listeners that Americans on the left of the political spectrum should be as worried as those on the right; he pointed out that the neighborhood targeted in Paris is known as a center of upwardly-mobile, young Parisian left. And he indicated that our concerns about ISIS infiltration should extend beyond refugees to applicants for student and other visas.

In bringing in these refugees, Greenberg said, “we’re bringing in people who are not acculturated to the West in large numbers. We’re bringing them in not because they wanted to be (here in the U.S.). People in the United States typically want to be in the United States. They want opportunity. They want to take advantage of the freedom that we have here. These (Syrians) are people who are being resettled here and my concern is that they’re going to build a sub-society, which they’ve done in, pretty much, every European country. These suburbs outside of Paris that are full of discontented, unassimilated Muslim young people, and that’s where these problems grow. And what I don’t want to have is a large Syrian suburb somewhere that never got acculturated to the West; that never felt like it belonged in the United States; that 30 years from now metastasizes into something horrible. We need to be smart, and that’s a reasonable conversation that we can have.”

Greenberg reminds that labeling someone “racist” because he wants to discuss U.S. asylum policy before accepting Syrians into states like Alaska, or calling someone “soft on terrorism” because she supports Syrian refugee acceptance in Alaska is counter-productive and distracts from the central issue.

I’m unsure of what the “American Way” is these days. Those blindly supporting Syrian migration into the United States cite the American poet Emma Lazarus’s sonnet “The New Colossus” and the iconic, sentimental American embrace of the tired, poor and huddled masses. There’s no doubt Lazarus was well-intended, but it’s doubtful she was referring to domestic or international terrorists.

Are the Syrians who might come here terrorists? Some might be. Many are probably economic migrants. And many more – most – are terrified and war-weary.

While Alaska’s congressional delegation, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R), Senator Dan Sullivan (R) and Congressman Don Young (R) are asking for President Obama to stop plans to accept Syrians seeking asylum in the U.S., Governor Walker is not yet answering questions on his plans, deferring instead to the hope that the vetting process is “stringent.” On Tuesday he said “While I understand the issue of allowing refugees into our country and our state lands solely with the federal government, I will remain focused on making sure the vetting process we were briefed on today remains the most stringent refugee vetting process in the world.”

Jonathan Greenberg’s thoughtful narrative today makes perfect sense. Trust, but verify. Take caution in concert with humanitarian relief when it comes to accepting foreigners, from a war-torn hostile country and region.

Alaska deserves to be safe from terrorism or harm. That comes before anything else. Your family and you deserve no less expectation.

For information on Jonathan Greenberg and the Salomon Center go to: salomoncenter.org