The U.S. must accept more refugees and asylum seekers from Syria

The refugee crisis, fueled by the political turmoil in Syria, has resulted in the displacement of millions of families. The images of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian child who drowned while attempting to flee the violence in his home country, should inspire a call to action that the United States cannot ignore.
 
As we have written at The Nation, the United States and many other wealthy nations have failed gravely in their response to the growing numbers risking their lives to flee war or poverty. We recently reported on the plight of refugees arriving in Greece and the perils they face because of this inaction. Refugees from Syria and other countries encounter sometimes deadly conditions on land and by sea and must face extreme violence and danger on their journey to safety.
 
The United States bears a special responsibility to respond, as our invasion of Iraq, decision to funnel weapons into the region and failure, along with other countries, to find a diplomatic solution have helped to fuel the violence. Since the Syrian conflict’s beginnings in 2011, the United States has taken in only about 1,500 Syrian refugees and has proposed to add only between 5,000 to 8,000 more. This is not enough. Germany has responded to the crisis by agreeing to take in 800,000 refugees from Syria and other countries in turmoil.

The United States must do more to help these families. To begin, we call on the United States government to heed the call of aid organizations and concerned politicians and take in at least 65,000 Syrian refugees before the end of 2016.

Read more at "The Nation:" http://www.thenation.com/article/europes-refugee-crisis-was-made-in-america/