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Chase Kane
Mrs. Ebisuya
English 8
Ihe
7 April 2016
Knock Knock! Guess No Ones Home?
The problem of escaped Syrian refugees has been a worldwide controversial
issue. European countries, the USA, and many others are facing disputes within their own
borders because of whether to allow Syrian Refugees to be let into the nation. Everyday,
thousands and thousands of innocent refugees are dying outside of the US, just because
we cant make one of the biggest nation affecting decisions weve ever had to make. I
believe that we, Hawaii as a state, and the US as a nation shouldn't allow refugees to
enter our borders because of the aftermath that will occur in the future.
According to Hawaii State Senator Sam Slom, "Like you, I celebrate Hawaii's
unique Aloha Spirit, openness and sense of welcome. However, there are limits and
practical realities to every stated policy. If we think about the present, what good would
allowing refugees to enter our borders do? We could save many people from the dangers
of war, violence, starvation, and poverty. Wouldn't that be great? But, what about the
effects of letting them in that will occur in the future? The more refugees we let in, the
more lives we save, and the more lives we save, the more populous Hawaii and the US
will be. But is that really a good thing?

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With more people living here, more resources will have to be expended towards
the cause of refugees. That means there will be less available resources for those who
originally lived here in Hawaii.
Another affect of having a populous country is limited jobs. Those living here
now will end up competing for careers and the delicate economy may fall apart.
Homelessness is also a growing concern within the states. According to Hope Services
Hawaii, 12-15,000 people statewide are homeless at some point of the year. Even though
there are many organizations and charities working to exterminate this problem, a sudden
increase in population could devastate the years worth of work put into solving
homelessness. If there are at least 12,000 homeless at any given point of the year, what
would happen if thousands and thousands of refugees poured into the states at once? How
would the numbers add up? How many more homeless would there be? Something like
this is too risky for us to take part in.
Lastly, and possibly the biggest danger, how do we know which refugees are safe
and which could pose a potential threat? On November 13, 2015, only half a year ago, a
serious act of terrorism took place in Paris, France. After the shooting of populated areas
of Paris, it was discovered that over 130 innocent civilians, uninvolved with ISIS, who
launched the attack, were found dead and many more in critical condition. I think that
this is one of the biggest reasons why citizens dislike the idea of letting in foreigners. You
never know what kind of danger someone can pose when you don't know who he or she
is, how their society works, and their cultural views. Here in the Hawaii, what the people
value most is safety within their homes, within their neighborhoods, within their country,

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and within their lifetimes. Simply granting permission to enter the states could be one of
the most jeopardizing decisions that we as a nation could ever make.
But on the other end of the spectrum, others think that saving more lives
outweighs the after effects. According to Governor David Ige of Hawaii, the US has a
long history of letting in escaped refugees affected by war and oppression. He also
covers that fact that Hawaii is the Aloha State and we have also been known to welcome
all people and that high level security checks would be put into place. But would security
checks for thousands of individual refugees really cut it? I believe that just a single
mishap or flaw in the system could endanger thousands of citizens. Another argument
supporters of opening borders protest is that terrorists and attackers would have no need
to go through the process of obtaining refugee status. According to Niskanen, the process
to be recognized as a refugee can take up to 2 years and requires a multi-stage vetting
process and U.N. referral. It states, Refugee Status is the single most difficult was to
come to the US. Niskanen later explains that other migration channels such as student or
tourist visas are much faster and easier to obtain, even all of the 9/11 hijackers used them.
It even states that it makes no sense for a terrorist to use the resettlement process to
launch an attack. But once again, is that really the case? As we have observed in the past,
some human beings waste their entire lives for a cause they find worthy. So, what makes
this case any different? Niskanen states that of nearly 1 million refugees admitted since
2001, not one has committed a single act of terrorism, and only 3 have been convicted of
planning. Niskanen also explains about us letting in all immigrants and the moral values
tied to it. But, from the perspective of about 192,000,000 US citizens opposed to allowing
in refugees, many argue that we don't owe them anything, that we need to take care of our

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problems first, and that if helping other puts us at greater risk, then we shouldn't help at
all. After all, the US and Hawaii arent some kind of shelters for people to hide under; we
cant have something like a religion that kills others spread here. And even putting
religion and such aside, we have many homeless children and adults on our streets, but
we would be providing housing for foreigners that arent even from here, foreigners that
could easily damage the fragile system keeping our nation standing and bring us to our
knees.
Citations:
"Niskanen Center." Niskanen Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
<https://niskanencenter.org/>.
"Hope Services Hawaii." Hope Services Hawaii. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
<http://hopeserviceshawaii.org/>.
"Governor: Hawaii Would Welcome Syrian Refugees." - Hawaii News Now. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/30532863/governor-hawaii-wouldwelcome-syrian-refugees)>.
"Senate Minority Leader Opposes Resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Hawaii." Senate
Minority Leader Opposes Resettlement of Syrian Refugees I. N.p., n.d. Web. 07
Apr. 2016. <http://www.kitv.com/story/30542604/senate-minority-leaderopposes-resettlement-of-syrian-refugees-in-hawaii>.