How Robust Refugee Protection Policies Can Strengthen Human and National Security

What is it about?

This paper argues that the protection of refugees can advance national and human security -- indeed that every act of refugee protection promotes the security of the communities that host refugees and safeguards refugees themselves. Refugees can also affirmatively contribute to the economic vitality, military strength, and diplomatic standing of their new communities. The paper identifies several strategies that would, if implemented, promote both security and refugee protection. It outlines additional steps that the US Congress should take to enhance refugee protection and security. Finally, it argues for political engagement in support of pro-protection, pro-security policies, and against the assumption that political populism will invariably impede support for refugee protection.

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Photo by Siddhant Soni on Unsplash

Photo by Siddhant Soni on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Refugees have been excluded from protection and left stranded in perilous situations because of fears that they may represent a risk to national security or public safety. However, careful screening of refugees -- a population that themselves have been victimized and persecuted -- can ensure that terrorists and criminals cannot successfully impersonate refugees and gain access to nations they intend to harm. Moreover, every act of refugee protection -- from preventing or mitigating the conditions that produce refugees, to creating the conditions that allow them to return home safely, to their integration in n the communities that host them, or their resettlement in third countries -- can advance security.

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