“Think globally, act locally,” is a phrase often associated with environmental movements, but the principle acquits itself well in a variety of contexts. That is why it was heartening when Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt emerged as a national leader voicing the opinion that the U.S. should accept more refugees than it currently plans to from Syria.
Along with a group of 18 mayors including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Kleinschmidt signed a letter to President Barack Obama urging the federal government to admit more refugees from Syria and assuring that the mayors’ municipalities would eagerly accept more refugees.
The letter was sent before the attacks in France took place Friday, but this perspective has only grown in importance since then. France’s president Francois Hollande announced the country was closing its borders, and high fear in Europe is creating a fraught situation for refugees.
The United States was already not doing its full part in easing the plight of refugees, but now it seems clear the U.S. should take in an even greater number of refugees as Europe becomes even less hospitable to Syrians fleeing the terror of their homeland and other Muslims. In France, an estimated 70 percent of its incarcerated population is Muslim, even though Muslims comprise only eight percent of France’s population. And those estimates originate from before the Paris attacks.
Mayor-elect Pam Hemminger should voice her support for this cause and continue Chapel Hill’s leadership on this issue.
The need for local voices advocating for refugees is compounded by the embarrassing xenophobia of North Carolina’s state leaders.
Yesterday, Gov. Pat McCrory announced North Carolina would ask the federal government to not send any more refugees from Syria. Thankfully, the power to end the intake of refugees is outside the power of the governor. However, both of the sitting senators from North Carolina, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, posted on their official Facebook page stating opposition to any intake of refugees.
Ironically, the cover photo for Burr’s Facebook page is of a sign saying “Welcome to North Carolina.”
Arguments against accepting refugees are specious at best and cynical fearmongering at worst. Next to no refugees are terrorists, but the United States already has a process of medical and background checks in place for refugees that can take up to two years to complete. If anything, these checks are overly restrictive and endanger refugees’ lives.
