Today, IRAP’s Board Chair, Walt Cooper, published a blog piece on The Huffington Post explaining how refugee resettlement helps undermine extremism. We’re grateful to Cooper, who spent 14 years as a U.S. Army Green Beret and who now serves as Director for Veterans Experience at the Department of Veterans Affairs, for providing insight into the links between refugee resettlement and national security.
“When Cuban refugees flee from Communism, we hail their heroism and welcome them to the United States,” writes Cooper. “We recognize that they have voted with their feet, rejected extremist ideology, and opted for a better life. Syrian refugees, too, have expressed their opinion of authoritarianism and extremism by fleeing from their homeland.”
Cooper makes an important argument for why resettlement matters: “By offering to resettle the most vulnerable refugees, the United States and other resettlement countries offer an alternative to ISIS. We express our solidarity with those who have rejected extremism and invite them to join a community that shares their values of mutual understanding.”
You can read the full article here. Please share it widely with your networks!
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