Head to Head: The Migrant Crisis – Domestic affairs must trim international affairs
Since April, governments have debated causes of the European Migrant Crisis, ethics of aid to refugees and potential impacts of interference with citizens from other countries.
First and foremost, roots of the crisis should be evaluated.
Christopher Hill, of Project Syndicate, provides some insight into the origin saying, “Still, the US did play a major role in the Syrian drama.”
He refers to U.S. military interaction in Middle Eastern countries and 2011’s failed attempt to negotiate with Syrian leaders, arguably the end of productive dialogue with the home country of many refugees.
I argue that the United States should turn attention internal; America has dealt enough harm to the world’s migrants.
Aid to migrants should be evaluated on an individual basis, under a specific framework. Careless acceptance of any countries’ peoples, without prioritization of a government’s own citizens, risk infringing on sovereignty of a country’s’ own people and decreases the chances that places from which citizens flee can actually resolve domestic issues.
Governments have an obligation to their own citizens; it is the purpose of a government. Any policy of aiding other countries’ citizens needs to be built with the government’s own citizens as the priority.
More importantly, pulling migrants out of countries in crisis reduces the likelihood that stability will ever be reached at home.
Accepting migrants capable of fleeing ignores the plight of the elderly, sick and poor and exacerbates the situation by removing those most able to bring peace and stability back to a region.
The best course of action in response to the current crisis is the one that brings the longest lasting peace to countries in turmoil.
Check out the other head to head on the migrant crisis here