Suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement is an entirely reasonable step to take in the face of the current situation in the United States. I would argue that we should go a step further and consider who may need to be taken in as refugees from the States over the next few years.

People are being snatched off the street and sent to overseas prison camps without recourse by masked police, for no reason other than their race. State after state is slowly increasing the hatred brought to bear against the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender individuals, and as seen in the coverage of the recent Pride event in Florida, many can no longer live openly for fear of the state. RFK recently attempted to aggregate information regarding autistic people in the United States, and while he was forced to back down, the concern that this was a prelude to eugenicist efforts remains. It is clear, as of now, that the United States is no longer safe for many of its own citizens, let alone refugees seeking shelter in the country.

We’ve failed refugees in the past. We took in under 5,000 Jewish people during World War Two, the smallest number among any Allied nation, per the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. We turned away the MS St. Louis, filled with 900 people who desperately needed sanctuary and were denied it. We’re now faced with the beginning of what very well may be another catastrophe. If faced with the choice, will we stand aside and let people die again, or will we live up to what we can and should be and offer safety to those who need it? We need to come to terms with the current situation, and answer the question of who we are and what we stand for, before things progress any further.