A More Coherent Refugee Policy
The United States has launched a number of resettlement and parole programs in recent years for people from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela. These initiatives are intended to mitigate human suffering by providing assistance for vulnerable people to move from conflict zones to the U.S., where they can enjoy safety and freedom.
Programs such as “Uniting for Ukraine” or “Operation Allies Welcome” for Afghans have been applauded as “groundbreaking and life-saving process[es]”—though experts admit these initiatives have unfair and poorly coordinated aspects. Through these programs, hundreds of thousands of people have arrived in the U.S. for theoretically temporary, though sometimes permanent, protection.
Whatever these programs’ virtues, though, it is high time to face the grim reality: The practice of resettlement and mass parole is unsustainable. In addition, such approaches harm the refugees’ countries of origin. . . .
[Read the whole thing at the American Conservative.]