After the Last Border:Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

Across five presidential administrations from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, the refugee resettlement program remained a “vital program that ensured national security, provided economic stability, and fulfilled America’s humanitarian duties to the world” (224). Since it was taken for granted, there was little need for educational campaigns about its benefits. To be sure, the program was available to only a tiny percentage of refugees.

The terror attacks on September 11, 2001 unleashed an anti-Muslim backlash. Public opinion was shifting to a better-safe-than sorry approach not seen since before the Great Depression. President Bush went to a mosque in the days after the attack to emphasize the peacefulness of Islam and to condemn violent attacks on Muslims. Given the national emergency, the refugee program was suspended on October 1 but reopened on November 21, 2001. The program was capped at 70,000—the lowest number since 1980—but it nonetheless continued.

The Bush administration prioritized the acceptance of translators and informants helping US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. New laws, such as the Patriot Act, made entry to the US more difficult as well. With half the world’s refugees in camps, the Bush administration nonetheless agreed to accept more people from camps with the aid of churches. Refugees from places such as Somalia and Myanmar were still accepted despite restrictionist views, while the needs of those in the Middle East went unmet (234).

Upon her arrival at her apartment in Austin, Hasna felt despair. She observed the poor and mismatched furniture, tiny space, and a lack of pots and pans. Highlighting the positive, she noted how the buildings were centered on courtyards and looked forward to having her extended family with her.

The next morning, a Syrian woman came to her door to check on her needs. Hearing her concerns, the woman and others took her to buy kitchen supplies and food. That night, Hasna’s family was invited to dinner where the other refugees gave information about the difficulties of the process. Despite the need to apply for Medicaid and other concerns, Hasna was optimistic and touched by a sense of kindness in the US. When she and her family went to Refugee Services of Texas, they were prepared for what they were told.

That evening, a Syrian man, Natheir Ali, came to check on them. He told them it would be difficult for them economically with only one able-bodied adult working. Hasna took to him, considering him a brother and son. In the US, Hasna sensed Syria, “a place where people clasped hands and refused to forget, to lose heart, to let go of their love for their country and for each other” (242).

Mu Naw received word from her sister-in-law that her mother had died. Sobbing, Mu Naw retreated to her closet. She felt guilty for not sending more money. Saw Ku came when he heard the news, hugged her, and attended to their children. In the closet, Mu Naw recalled her mother in an entirely new light. Her father had told the story of how he married her. His friends grabbed her and brought her to him, where he raped her, ruined her reputation, and denied her the man whom she loved. Mu Naw’s rage at her mother had been misdirected. She realized how much her mother adored her, staying for so long with this man who physically and verbally abused her. Mu Naw sensed her mother and felt her forgiveness. When Saw Ku came to the closet, they stared at one another and “Mu Naw knew then, with some regret, what she had to do” (248).

The Refugees Admission Process “had become a well-honed system” (249) by 2008. Consisting of multiple interviews, the collection of biometric data, and medical exams over a period of at least 18 months, it provided “the most secure entry process for anyone” (249) coming to the US. During the Obama administration, the global refugee crisis escalated. The war in Syria was one of the drivers of that increase. By the end of 2016, there were over 17 million refugees and 67 million persons of concern.

In 2011, fulfilling a campaign promise, President Obama was pulling US troops out of Iraq. The war in Afghanistan continued. Therefore, when Assad crossed a red line on August 21, 2013 by using chemical weapons on his own people, Obama was not in a position to advocate US involvement in Syria. Instead, he requested Congressional authorization for the use of force, which would not be forthcoming, and ultimately agreed to a Russian promise to broker a deal in which Assad would surrender his chemical weapons. The latter proved to be nothing more than a stalling tactic, and Assad continued to use chemical weapons. As a result, Syrians were fleeing the country in massive numbers.

The mood of the American public had shifted from sympathy with refugees to animosity. The terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 caused people to equate terrorists with refugees. In 2015, the US resettled 1,682 people from Syria, a miniscule number given the millions in need. Goudeau comments that the national debate about refugees “turned back to whether we should resettle them at all” (258). In September 2016, President Obama reset the ceiling for Syrian refugees to 110,000. However, Trump, who campaigned against Muslim immigration, was elected president two months later.