Eleanor Acer Discusses the U.S. Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis on The Brian Lehrer Show

By Megdi Abebe

Earlier this week, Human Rights First’s Eleanor Acer was a guest on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show. As a response to the global refugee crisis, the Obama Administration stated that they would resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year.

Political leaders and many organizations, including Human Rights First, are pressuring the administration to do much more. During thin interview, Acer noted that the United States has the capacity to be a world leader in resettling Syrian refugees.

“This country has a long history of being a nation of immigrants and a nation founded by people who are fleeing persecution. That’s sort of who we are as a country and each wave of immigrants and refugees enriches our communities and helps this country become stronger,” said Acer

Acer suggested the United States, given its size and capabilities, should take in 100,000 refugees during the next fiscal year and fix the burdensome asylum system that makes the process of admitting refugees difficult and tedious.

For more, listen to the full interview here:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/politics-and-logistics-accepting-10000-syrian-refugees/