U.S. too quick to house Islamic refugees
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 7/15/2008 10:00:00 AM

The head of an immigration reform organization says the United States should be the place of last resort for Islamic refugees fleeing horrible conditions in their homelands.





Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), has written a new book called The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal. He contends that, too often, the U.S. State Department grants visas to foreign nationals who create huge problems in the communities where they settle.

"There's no question that refugee admissions can cause problems – not even just Muslim refugees, but any others. But yes, if you look at Muslims specifically, we've taken people from Somalia, for instance, whose integration is a real problem in places like Minneapolis and elsewhere," Krikorian explains. "That's why I set the bar very high for refugee admissions."

Krikorian believes the U.S. should insist that other countries take on some of the burden for refugee resettlement. "We should not be taking anybody who can find somewhere else to go. And...if there are Islamic refugees...it seems to me [we] have every right to tell, say, Saudi Arabia – which is empty and rich – that they need to take some of these people and twist their arms a little bit. And we don't do that," he laments.

Krikorian says, unfortunately, the United States actually makes refugee resettlement into the country a first resort instead of the last resort for some groups.

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