And You Thought We Had Immigration Problems

I follow the  news constantly, and am saddened by the spiraling migrant and refugee problem in Europe.  The pictures are heart wrenching.  Hundreds of thousands of migrants are pouring into Europe from Syria, seeking refuge from Isis, war in Syria and extreme poverty.  It's a humanitarian crisis, and many European countries are stepping up big time.  Germany is taking the lead.  Angela Merkel has pledged to accept 800,000 refugees over the next two years.  She is urging all European Union countries to accept their fair share of the migrants.  France, Britain, Denmark and Sweden have also agreed to take Syrian refugees over the next several years.  Hungary's right wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, does not see things as other EU countries do.  He delivered a series of incendiary comments last week saying that "Europe's Christian roots" were being threatened and insisting that the problem is a German problem.

There is a difference between migrants and refugees.  The former are leaving their country to seek a better way of life, while the latter are leaving for political reasons.  The refugees are seeking political asylum.  The European problem is quite different than the illegal immigration problem we have in the United States.  We have in the past had many refugees coming here seeking political asylum.  El Salvador, Guatemala and Vietnamese refugees come to mind.  But the immigrants coming here illegally today are by and large coming for a better way of life.  Typically, their lives are not threatened in their birth country, but they want what we all want and are willing to risk their lives coming here, to get it.

It is interesting to see how a continent with dozens of countries, dozens of languages, and different cultures, is taking their immigration problem and dealing with it immediately.  We, on the other hand, are still arguing about everything.  The years keep rolling by, and we still have no immigration policy  in place.  We are the land of immigrants.  It's part of what makes us a great nation.  We need to learn to deal with immigration problems, instead of simply pushing the problem off to another generation. I applaud the Germans for taking the lead on their difficult problem.  I applaud Pope Francis, too, for comments he made on September 6.  He said that every parish in Europe should take in at least one family.  That would be a great beginning.  I remember many years ago when the U.S. had a flood of Russian Jews immigrate.  Every synagogue took in families and help them assimilate until they could get on their feet.  Most people want to help, but often the negative voices are the ones we hear.  It's nice to see that so many Europeans are stepping up and helping.