New York is known for its liberal policies, especially when it comes to accepting refugees. But when those refugees are threatened by the federal government, we need to step up.

When Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake displaced more than 1.5 million of its citizens, many Haitians headed north. The United States granted incoming Haitians Temporary Protected Status, allowing 20,000 to stay in New York alone. That protection is set to expire in January, and under President Donald Trump’s administration, there’s speculation it won’t be renewed.

The possibility has refugees, especially those in upstate New York, scrambling for Canada — a place that houses its refugees in an Olympic stadium. Canada’s welcoming embrace should serve as a wake-up call for Americans, particularly New Yorkers, as our country becomes more hostile to refugees.

From July to mid-August, about 8,000 migrants have crossed through upstate New York, fleeing to seek asylum in Quebec. If Attorney General Jeff Sessions chooses to discontinue TPS, asylum seekers would be deported to Haiti, said Steve Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell University Law School.

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“President Trump has escalated the war of words about refugees and asylum seekers being national security threats,” Yale-Loehr said. “Anyone who’s applying for asylum, no matter what country they are from, has to be concerned that it’s going to be harder to win asylum now and that it may take longer than under the prior administration.”

The waiting period for asylum seekers to be seen before an immigration judge is two to three years due to the severe shortage of judges, Yale-Loehr added.

By the end of July 2016, the number of backlogged cases in the country was 617,527, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse — the highest number to date. Of these cases, New York had the third highest amount of any U.S. state: 84,429.

Upstate New York have a history of refugee acceptance, which may be why so many have ended up here. But we can do more when U.S. asylum seekers will often end up spending their time detained in federal detention facilities, awaiting trial.

Hidden behind trees on several hundred feet off of I-90, the Buffalo Federal Detention Facilities, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, cannot be seen by the public. Immigrants in jumpsuits reside behind barbed wire waiting for a backlogged system to catch up.

ICE’s practices have long been controversial. In 2014, the Secretary of Homeland Security wrote in an email that the use of detainers — a written request for a jail or other law enforcement agency to arrest an individual without due process — is a violation of the Fourth amendment. According to the directors of TRAC, the number of detainers ICE used was up 31.7 percent in March 2017 from January, the second full month of the Trump Administration.

This is all targeted at our most vulnerable guests — refugees who don’t have the means to defend themselves. But despite a few mentions from the ACLU, New Yorkers haven’t paid much attention to these big issues.

Realizing these huge problems are happening in our backyards is the first way to fight it. Then, we have to take action. The ACLU has looked into the problems with detainers, but it’s something our local chapter can take action on. We can reach out to government officials and protest to raise attention for this issue and together, we can reaffirm that Syracuse is indeed a sanctuary city.

How we treat these refugees represents who we are as New Yorkers, and furthermore as Americans. Labelling men and women fleeing persecution and economic turmoil as national security threats is corrosive to our public discourse and an utter waste of talent and resources.

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In Syracuse specifically, we must advocate for refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants and well as alert them to these troubling trends in our federal government. And most of all, we must reassure refugees this city — and country — is a place for all people.

If not, we risk losing people who not only increase the economic prosperity of our city, but also give create a cultural identity that makes Syracuse exceptional.

Kyle Smith is a third-year environmental studies major. His column appears biweekly. You can reach him at kasmi102@syr.edu.

Published on September 17, 2017 at 7:41 pm