MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – In a new video, Associate Professor of Political Science Sarah Stroup says that the United States refugee policy is far more restrictive than many Americans imagine.
Stroup points out that the U.S. has taken in more than three million refugees since 1980 but says it accepts about 70,000-80,000 refugees a year, which she calls “a drop in the bucket compared to the 20 million refugees who are looking for a safer environment in which they can settle.” She says this leaves poorer, less equipped countries to take on the burden of large numbers of refugees.
Stroup also discusses how the Trump administration’s two executive travel orders have highlighted concerns from both refugee advocates and opponents.
She also recently offered her thoughts on whether there was hope for more protection of refugees in an opinion piece, “Refugee politics from the local to the international,” on the blog OpenDemocracy.net.
Photo by Brett Simison.