“Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana
Recent Presidential Executive Order that would make it more difficult for Central Americans seeking asylum to gain entry at the U.S.-Mexico border show that the Trump Administration’s stance towards Immigration has not waivered, despite numerous pleas that these policies are inhumane. Rhetoric depicting the migrant groups seeking asylum from Mexico and Central America as inherently bad people, criminals, and even terrorists flood some parts of main stream media. One group that grabbed headlines was the Migrant Caravan, which was estimated to include as many at 4,000 migrants. The Trump Administration claims that their hard stance against such migrant groups, otherwise known as their “zero-tolerance” policy is an ode to their pledge to decrease illegal immigration. However, it is important to remember that Asylum is a legal form of immigration, and that the caravan members have legal right to claim asylum. But, recent troubles at the border raise a deeper issue than that of legality, as well as draw striking similarities to instances from the past. As a country, the United States has faced similar situations before; unfortunately resulting with negative outcomes.
This is not the first time the US has come under fire for denying protections to refugees seeking protection on US soil. Such was the case in 1939, when MS St. Louis, the German ocean liner which carried more than 900 Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany to Cuba and later the United States and Canada. Such horror can never be forgotten. This voyage, which would go on to be named “The Voyage of the Damned”, was not received with open arms in both the United States and Canada, both of which denied refuge to the Jewish refugees.
The ship, which first arrived in Cuba, was met with similar challenges and similar rhetoric to those seeking asylum at the Southern border today. Before the ships arrival, Cuban President Federico Laredo Brú signed a decree that invalidated the passengers’ visas. At the time, his decision was supported by many Cubans who feared that the immigrants would compete for jobs in the country. Additionally, negative attitudes towards the Jewish refugees were further exacerbated, as rhetoric claiming the Jewish passengers were communists and criminals spread. When the ship then tried to land in Miami it was denied entry, for unspecified reasons.
Ultimately, some of the Jewish refugees seeking protection were able to gain such freedoms in other European countries, others were not so lucky. Later reports showed that, of the 907 passengers who had returned to Europe, 255 were killed during the war, the vast majority of them dying in concentration camps. Years later a convention would be adopted that would further explain the rights people have who seek to migrate from their countries because they are under duress.
Asylum is a protection granted to foreign nationals already in the United States or at the border who meet the international law definition of a “refugee”. The definition of “refugee” in the United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol were informed by World War II experiences and the global resolve to learn from the mistakes of the past. By definition, a refugee is:
“a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”
Today many migrants still seek asylum in the United States. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the number of migrants seeking Asylum in the United States has increased by 70 percent from 2017; a number that has been met with push back by the current administration. However, there is a significant divide in the attitudes of Americans surrounding the current way the Administration is handling immigration issues. More than half (52%) of Americans say they disapprove of how President Donald Trump has handled immigration. More notably, a majority of Americans — 57 percent — said Trump needs to compromise on the border wall.
Such polarized views are exacerbated by the media. This has resulted in contention surrounding the ways in which the US approaches asylum seekers at the Southern border; with a prominent argument centering on the dichotomies of legality approaches versus humanitarian approaches. Using the MS St. Louis as a point of reference, we see what happens when humanitarian concerns are dismissed.
We do not have to look too far to see the similarities between the MS St. Louis and the current crisis at the border; rhetoric painting those currently seeking asylum in the US as terrorists, criminals, and drug dealers have and continue to be perpetuated by individuals holding high positions of power, as it was in MS St. Louis. Additionally, the perceived threat that refugees take jobs from current citizens is one that has not been lost with the passing of time.
Looking at the circumstances surrounding the denial of protection of Jewish refugees on the MS St. Louis, it is evident that we are dealing with an issue that transcends any singular moment in time. As evidenced by the Administration’s current stance on asylum seekers at the border, we see that what happened to the Jewish refugees was not an isolated experience, but one that continues to be shared by groups of asylee seekers. However, what we have now is the advantage of knowing history and outcomes. That is to say that despite the passing of time the MS St.Louis is not as far removed as it seems; and thus a valid example of a time where in denying protections to those in need—we got it wrong.
This realization, that denying the Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis protections was a grave mistake, is a conclusion that was recently reached my Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This year, Prime Minister Trudeau formally apologized for his country’s failure to grant asylum to the Jewish refugees on board the St. Louis. The US arrived at a similar conclusion in 2012 when The State Department apologized to the survivors of the MS St. Louis and invited them to tell their stories.
However, the treatment of those at the border, who come seeking the same protections that the Jewish refugees came for years ago, raises the question: Have we truly learned from our history?
Thus, the issue surrounding the US’s provision of protections to those who seek asylum is one that remains. While we cannot say with certainty what is to come for those seeking asylum a the Southern border, we can use the past as a marker for what happens when we do not uphold our ideals surrounding the provision of protection for those seeking asylum in the US.