Refugees, Then and Now

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/opinion/letters/refugees-detention-united-states.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Clint, Tex., and Vichy France,” by Julie Orringer (Sunday Review, June 30):

Whether the United States migrant detention centers along the southern border more closely resemble World War II-era concentration camps or refugee internment camps in Vichy France misses the point. The question is one of responsibility and action, not comparison.

The moral and humanitarian crisis today at the United States border demands that each of us raise our voices because how we treat these most vulnerable people shows what kind of society we intend to be.

The International Rescue Committee was founded during World War II to support refugees fleeing the horrors of the war, and today we are working in Arizona, Texas and California to support asylum seekers fleeing violence in Central America.

Those seeking asylum need fair and efficient processing of their cases. Since we also work in El Salvador and Mexico, we know that those countries need enlightened political and economic partnership with the United States, too.

America needs to reassert its founding character. The common thread is simple: Refugee crises are a test of us, not just of the refugees.

David MilibandNew YorkThe writer is president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee.