Pass the Crayon

"The EU cannot continue to shrug off its responsibilities indefinitely and pass them on to countries with low-resources, using its political and economical power to bargain the cost of reception of asylum seekers for its own benefit."

"The United States' border policy directly contravenes the 1951 Refugee Convention, which states that all asylum seekers have the right “to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution" (Article 14). Despite the fact detention and processing at the border clearly flouts this law, it is common practice - just look at Europe's third country deal with Turkey!"

"It’s odd to think about how legislation that was created nearly 20 years before you were born still impacts your life today, how if it weren’t for the erasure of some numbers in whatever immigration database that was kept at the time my life (or even my birth) would have a radically different face."

We explore the differences between U.S. and German migration policy, comparing their diametric responses to the recent 'migration crisis', and considering the current and future effects of these policy decisions.

In 2015, the Migration Crisis in the European Union (EU) reached its peak, with over one million people fleeing their homelands. Unfortunately, thousands of these asylum seekers died in the process of attaining their freedom, either through drowning, starvation, and other perils associated with flight. While many Europeans believe that asylum is important, they also believe “the process needs to improve,” (European Parliament, 2017). It’s not a surprise that refugees and asylum seekers from the Middle East or Africa are attempting to make a new home in the United States and Germany. Both these countries are two of the leading economic forces in the world, and asylum acceptance rates in Germany are the highest in Europe.

The 'refugee crisis' more-or-less began in late 2014 with...

By ratifying the term 'refugee', as defined by the UN Refugee Convention, we are creating a hierarchy of needs, with refugees at the top, and below, a growing underclass of 'non-refugees' who are left to rot in decrepit and unsanitary migrant camps for years, or face being sent back to unstable and dangerous countries- What about their rights?