Resettling Syrian Refugees in the U.S.: Regional Stability and Saving Lives

In the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since World War II, millions of Syrians have fled their homes since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. This thesis argues that the United States needs to resettle more Syrian refugees to prevent further destabilization in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Specifically, the United States should go above President Obama’s current proposal to accept 10,000 Syrians this year and follow the recommendation of former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and resettle 65,000 additional Syrian refugees over the next five years. In addition, most of these 65,000 refugees should be families with young children and women: children, because child refugees who remain in the region are largely deprived of education, and women, because they are disproportionately subjected to sexual abuse in refugee camps, in Jordan in particular