America's values and national security interests are the strongest reasons to raise the ceiling of refugees accepted into the United States, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asserts.
In an opinion piece posted by The Washington Post Friday, Chertoff, who served from 2005-2009 under President George W. Bush, argued that President Donald Trump has already cut refugee admissions by more than half, to 50,000, and may slash still deeper.
"By way of comparison, the highest ceiling under President Ronald Reagan was 140,000," Chertoff wrote — urging Trump to "seize the mantle of Reagan and fortify U.S. leadership on refugees."
"Our values and our national security interests argue for raising our refugee ceiling, not lowering it," he wrote.
According to Chertoff, cutting refugee admittance damages our national interest abroad, hurts the nation's economy, and denies "the most vulnerable" who are selected for resettlement a "lifeline."
He also argued forcing refugees to return to unsafe and unstable countries makes counterterrorism more difficult for the U.S. troops deployed there.
"Maintaining resettlement commitments is also critical to our military, diplomatic and intelligence operations abroad," he said, asserting tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan nationals "have put their lives on the line to support intelligence-gathering, operations planning and other essential services."
"Resettlement is instrumental to ensuring their safety — a testament to the U.S. military's commitment to leave no one behind on the battlefield," he wrote.
The United States "must provide unwavering support for Muslims who put their lives at risk to reject terrorist ideologies," he wrote, adding: "refugees enrich and are deeply supported by our communities."
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