Syria

# Asylum Seekers

Trump May Be Gone, but the U.S. Asylum System Is Still Broken

This article is by Basileus Zeno, a Syrian asylum seeker and the Karl Loewenstein Fellow and Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Amherst College.

In 2011, when the Arab Spring swept across the Middle East, my wife, Katty, and I didn’t hesitate to heed the call for freedom and dignity in Syria. We protested, published essays, documented human rights violations and participated in leadership meetings with other political activists. Looking back, we were lucky: We landed in the United States in mid-2012, just before the Syrian government launched a vicious crackdown that left most of our closest friends either in prison or fleeing for their lives. Devastated, and realizing we could not safely return to Damascus, I applied for asylum.

Then, for eight years, I waited.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Human Rights# International# National Security

Whither the Syrian Christian Refugees?

As the Syrian city of Aleppo falls under government control, the question of Syrian refugees has become even more urgent. Forces loyal to the government are summarily murdering civilians, and even the wounded cannot be evacuated due to government (and Russian) military action. Despite heartbreaking “goodbye messages” from civilians trapped in the conflict zone, I have little … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# National Security

In Defense of Muslim Refugees

Since the vicious attack last week by Muslim extremists in Paris, attention in the U.S. has focused on our country’s refugee policy and President Obama’s decision earlier this year to admit an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees (above the normal refugee ceiling of 70,000). More than half of the nation’s governors have indicated that Syria refugees … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum# Asylum Seekers

More Syrian Refugees = More Asylum Seeker Delays?

The U.S. government recently announced that we will be raising the refugee cap and accepting thousands of additional refugees from Syria. We’re hearing the usual angry voices decrying the “invaders” and the “jihadists,” but that is not what I want to discuss today (I’ve already written about Muslim refugees here). Instead, I want to cover … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Human Rights# International

Syria of Blessed Memory

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus tells us that you can never step into the same river twice. We often find ourselves returning to places we visited long ago, though of course those places have changed and so have we. At least that’s how it is for me with Syria. I visited Syria with two friends way back in April … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# National Security

Fox News Goes After Syrian Asylee – By Any Means Necessary

On Fox News, the ends always seem to justify the means. It’s acceptable to smear a perceived political opponent based on the most tenuous of evidence. For this reason, even when Fox News raises a legitimate concern, it’s hard to separate truth from half-truth (which reminds me of the old Yiddish proverb: “A halber emes … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Human Rights# Legal Relief# National Security

Jewish Hatemonger and Her Lies About Syrian TPS

Conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel has made a name for herself fighting “radical Islam,” which to her is synonymous with any form of Islam.  For instance, in response to Osama bin Laden’s death, she wrote “One down, 1.8 billion to go… many of ’em inside U.S. borders.”  Regarding the teenagers murdered in last year’s massacre in … Read more

By Jason Dzubow