refugees

Brits Don't Need to Compare Refugee Policy to Nazis—British History is Cruel Enough

by Priyamvada Gopal

"As its government demonises undocumented people seeking shelter today, it is worth remembering that Britain has historically been more a refugee-making country than a refugee-taking one."

Welcome Corps is the Newest Idea for Welcoming Refugees, but it Has a Long History

by Emily Frazier and Laura E. Alexander

The proposal for a new refugee resettlement agency extends the mission of many religious settlement and humanitarian groups that have operated in the United States for more than 150 years. This has the potential and the peril of bringing resettlement more in line with the characteristics of local communities. 

The Real Story of "Casablanca" Was the Refugees

At its 80th anniversary, it's appropriate to honor the classic film by focusing on the waves of Europeans fleeing Nazi persecution and working to fight back. 

Resisting Nationalism in Education

by Jacob Goodwin

"Countering the pull toward nationalistic authoritarianism requires intellectual openness and curiosity.  This is a challenge in the time of recovery from the global pandemic, environmental catastrophe and jagged economic turbulence."

Spain's New Citizenship Law for Exiles from Franco Portends Massive Return from Latin America

Between the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and the end of the dicatorship in 1978, an estimated 2 million Spaniards fled political persecution by leaving the country. 

A Holocaust Mystery: Ken Burns Gets Lost in a Bermuda Triangle

by Rafael Medoff and Monty N. Penkower

At the 1943 Bermuda Conference, British and American diplomats offered a symbolic show of concern for Jewish refugees, but made no substantial commitment to help. Ken Burns's recent holocaust documentary passes over this event. 

DeSantis's Martha's Vineyard Stunt Echoes "Reverse Freedom Rides" of Civil Rights Era

The segregationist White Citizens Councils hoped to use the media to dunk on northern liberals by sending poor African Americans north with false promises of jobs, housing and services. 

Race and Religion Have Always Helped Determine Who Gets Refuge in the US

by Laura E. Alexander, Jane Hong, Karen Hooge Michalka and Luis E. Romero

While Ukrainians fleeing war are deserving of aid from the United States, the treatment of both Haitian and Syrian refugees shows that the asylum process is far from equitable. 

St. Patrick's Story Should Make Us Consider How Ireland Treats Refugees

by Elizabeth Boyle

Both the legacy of St. Patrick and attention to a new wave of Ukrainian refugees should make the Republic of Ireland reconsider how it welcomes refugees from around the world. 

War Torn: Confronting the Problems of the Nationless

by Nick Turse

Those displaced by war, persecution, and economic desperation constitute more than a billion people. The "nationless" are the third-largest nation on Earth, and their ranks will only grow.

Kyiv History Professor Discusses Invasion While Fleeing to Poland

Olgah Martynyuk of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute spoke to journalists while preparing to leave the country by train to Poland, saying Ukrainians are determined to defend their democracy. 

Today's Asylum Seekers Carry on the Freedom Struggle of Enslaved Americans

by Sean Gallagher

Moving across the nation's boundaries was integral to the efforts of enslaved people to secure freedom; migrants today carry the legacy of that struggle, despite the cruelty of American immigration policy. 

The US Has Long Exploited the Legally Ambiguous Status of Guantanamo Bay

by Jana Lipman

The use of the naval base at Guantanamo bay for the detention of both suspected terrorists and refugees and migrants reflects the place's status as outside both Cuban and U.S. law. Since the end of the Spanish-American war, Cuban workers have understood the threat of abuse this status enables. 

Americans Have been Forgetting Afghanistan for 20 Years. I Didn't Have That Luxury

by Ali A. Olomi

"Every Afghan American I know has lost a family member or friend. The war became part of who we were and even shaped our career trajectories. Afghan friends became immigration attorneys and activists. I became a historian."

Guantanamo's Other History

by Jeffrey S. Kahn

Reports of a bid for migrant detention contractors based at Guantanamo including speakers of Haitian Creole fed suspicion of a new connection of the military and immigration enforcement. Where Haitian refugees are concerned, the Guantanamo connection is nothing new. 

What America Owes Haitian Asylum Seekers

by Michael Posner

"The plight of the Haitians has been further complicated by decades of misrule, corruption and brutality by a series of Haitian governments that received steady U.S. financial and political support despite egregious records on human rights."

The Latest Episode in the History of American Mistreatment of Haitian Migrants

by Edwidge Danticat

Novelist Edwidge Danticat explains the lengthy history of mistreatment of Haitian migrants by American authorities. 

Resettling Refugees is Harder than You Think – A Personal History

by Ron Steinman

Experience shows that resettling refugees isn't easy. But with respect for common humanity and dedication, it's possible. 

Vietnam's Postwar Refugee Crisis

“The United States doesn’t take enough into account how refugee migration and displacement are a part of all of our foreign policy interventions,” says historian Phuong T. Nguyen. “We need to be prepared to handle the humanitarian crisis that inevitably follows.” 

70 Years after the UN Refugee Convention, the US Needs to Commit to Helping Displaced People

by Linda K. Kerber

The UN Refugee Convention does not impose any real obligations on any nation to offer asylum. The United States must lead the way in recognition of the deeply interconnected world created in large part by American power.