“Just Don’t Come”
“To release a statement that says “just don’t come” to refugees who have no choice but to migrate is ignorant. Further, to release that statement when the U.S. is the root cause of mass migration from certain countries is an insult to all refugees. ”
On June 7, after a meeting with Alejandro Giammattei, the president of Guatemala, Kamala Harris revealed the blissful ignorance of the Biden administration: "I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come." To release a statement that says “just don’t come” to refugees who have no choice but to migrate is ignorant. Further, to release that statement when the U.S. is the root cause of mass migration from certain countries is an insult to all refugees.
For the past two decades, the U.S. has played a brutal role in the destabilization of the Middle East, resulting in a rise of refugees migrating from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The U.S.’s initial entry into Iraq and the Middle East in 2003 was predicated on the false claim that Iraq hosted “weapons of mass destruction”. However, both the Obama and Trump administrations continued the U.S.’s involvement through their frequent use of drone strikes in both of their tenures. In addition, the Trump administration passed different laws that allowed drone strikes to be more easily launched, and civilian casualties to go unreported. Though Biden repealed some of these laws, he excludes Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq from needing White House Approval for launching strikes. As a result, the Biden administration seems to not have ceased drone strikes but continued the cycle of violence that has plagued the Middle East, following in his predecessors' footsteps.
On the other side of the world, Venezuela also stands at odds with the U.S. empire. Like the Middle East, Venezuela contains lucrative oil reserves that the United States is relentlessly pursuing. However, when Venezuela nationalized their oil industry, denying American oil companies profit, the United States placed over 150 sanctions on Venezuela that have led to over 40,000 Venezuelan deaths since 2017. In addition, the U.S. has directly influenced various coup attempts against Venezuelan leaders in both 2002 and 2020, though more have been speculated. Ultimately, the U.S.’s influence in Venezuela has contributed to a complete collapse of their economy, and a divide of their government as the U.S. attempts to replace President Nicolas Maduro with self-appointed statesman Juan Guaido.
All of this, and for what? It certainly isn’t for “freedom”; the average American citizen does not gain more freedom from our military raining missiles or sanctions on Syrian, Afghani, Iraqi, or Venezuelan citizens. Instead, it is our leaders and the wealthy who will benefit, walking away from brutal armed conflict with billions of dollars through ruthless war profiteering. The U.S.’s thirst for oil and profit has come at the cost of destroying not only families, but entire nations, as Syria, Venezuela, and Afghanistan rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively on how many refugees have been displaced as of 2019.
These countries are not the only ones affected by the United States. Countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Pakistan are other nations that have been caught in the crossfire between the U.S. and their pursuit of profit, and many of their citizens continue to flee these countries due to violence and instability. Kamala Harris’s words of “Just don’t come” are more than just a simple denial of shelter to refugees. They are a larger symbol of American hypocrisy and privilege: to nearly destroy a country’s government and economy, and then deny those very people asylum.
“Just don’t come”?
Just don’t launch thousands of drone strikes into other countries.
Just don’t sell arms for billions of dollars of profit.
Just don’t topple governments who deny the U.S. their oil.
Just don’t prioritize profit over human lives.
