Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the workshop class, The War on X. The War on X is a new elective class at GCE this Fall term that focuses on current events that their own small battles and large levels of importance. Some topics that were up for discussion were the War on Afghanistan, the War on Immigration, and Critical Race Theory. For this first unit the majority of the class decided to talk about the War on Immigration. More specifically we focused on the United States-Mexico border and the situation there. We looked into the history of a border and eventually wall being at the border in the first place and moved on to examine more recent events from the presidency of Donald Trump. We also looked at the entry process for immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees to enter the United States. In this small Action Project we were asked to choose one of the three groups trying to enter the US and look at their entrance process further. I chose to study refugees more because the process seemed very interesting regarding their reason for leaving their home country. This AP gives a step by step list of the entrance process for a refugee and also an evaluation on a step that could be done better. I hope you enjoy reading.
The process of entering the United States is very interesting, especially if you are a refugee. A refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. Lately, we have been studying refugees, migrants, and asylum speakers and how their entrance process works when trying to enter the United States. I think the entrance process for a refugee is very important to learn because it entails steps that many people would disagree on. The entrance process of a refugee in the United States is as follows. First, the person or group of people must have a reason for leaving their home country. Next, they travel to the United States and seek entrance at the border. Then they have to contact the U.S. refugee program. After doing this the refugees must fill out the I-589 which is a large application for asylum form that is only in English. If the form is accepted the person can continue with the entrance process but if the form is sent back, the person will not be granted access to the United States. For the people that are granted access, they must now find a financial sponsor and then go through multiple government screenings. Next, they must be interviewed in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. If they make it through all of that, they are granted the title of refugee and are allowed to live in the United States.
One part of this process that I agree with is contacting the UNHCR to establish yourself as a refugee. I believe that the agency is doing well because they are collecting documentation and running initial screenings for refugees. This allows refugees to be registered for admission. The UNHCR also tries to provide water, shelter, and food to displaced people so they may have an easier time while waiting or searching for asylum. I think this is very important and it shows their efforts are good for refugee entrance processes.
Unfortunately, there are some different steps that could be critiqued. United States government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security or Department of Health and Human Services are important for helping refugees settle in the United States. They are supposed to provide refugees with funding for rent, food, and clothing. When Donald Trump was president of the US, he continued to lower the refugee cap for the US (CNN) which made these agencies downsize and have more trouble with handling refugees. I believe this step could be critiqued to allow more government funding for charity organizations so they can support the refugees. We also could try to focus on rebuilding these agencies that may have better resources to assist refugees. As of June 2021, Turkey hosts the most refugees out of any other country in the world. Their current method uses a non-camp and government financed approach which is different compared to other countries that accept refugees who direct the support to humanitarian agencies. If the United States were to adopt this approach I believe more refugees would be more comfortable and secure when seeking asylum in our country.
I hope that explanation on the entrance process for a refugee was interesting and maybe expanded your knowledge. I enjoyed working on this Action Project and found my research very interesting. I was surprised with how limiting the entrance process could be and the time that it takes for someone to be accepted. I would hope that this could be changed that is more considerate and easier for refugees but also for anyone else trying to enter the United States for their own reasons. This class is also mixed cohort so it allowed me to learn more about the students in the grades I do not often interact with. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next post.
Sources:
Hansler, Jennifer and Priscilla Alvarez. “Trump administration sets refugee cap at 15,000, a new historic low.” CNN, Published 1 Oct. 2020 https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/politics/us-refugee-cap-fy21/index.html
“Turkey’s Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Road Ahead.” The World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/turkey/publication/turkeys-response-to-the-syrian-refugee-crisis-and-the-road-ahead
“Identity Documents for Refugees EC/SCP/33.” UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/excom/scip/3ae68cce4/identity-documents-refugees.html
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