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By definition, they’re the people nobody wants. Conflict,
disaster, persecution and other crises uprooted about 43 million people
from their homes last year. Many millions were displaced by conflicts
directly linked to U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan, Iraq and
Pakistan. But despite its historical promise of refuge to the world’s
huddled masses, America keeps its humanitarian floodgates tightly
guarded.

Recently, the Obama administration proposed an annual cap
of 80,000 on refugees entering the U.S.—a generous number by
international standards but a tiny fraction of the unrelenting wave of
displacement.

The annual cap will include around 17,000 Iraqis (though the actual
number admitted may differ from the annual target). The figure is a
modest acknowledgment of America’s moral debt to that country. It
also may reflect geopolitical posturing at least as much as it responds
to humanitarian needs—not surprisingly, the U.S. absorbs far more refugees from
Iraq, Burma, Iran and Cuba than from the rest of the world combined.
Regardless, opening our doors to 17,000 Iraqi refugees is not nearly
enough, when measured against Washington’s respo... >>>