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Moral And Legal Quandaries In Migrant Crisis

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Migrant meltdown out of the Middle East. Who would take these people? Should the US help? And how to stop a global problem at its source.

People pass railway tracks as they approach the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija,Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. Hundred of thousands migrants and refugees trying to reach the heart of Europe via Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and Hungary have faced dangers, difficulties and delays on every link of the journey.  (AP)
People pass railway tracks as they approach the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija,Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. Hundred of thousands migrants and refugees trying to reach the heart of Europe via Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and Hungary have faced dangers, difficulties and delays on every link of the journey. (AP)

Europe is stepping up, or trying to. To take care of the refugees, the migrants that have piled up so dramatically on its doorstep. But the misery in war-torn Syria and beyond is so deep. The flood keeps coming. Families, children. People with stories that tear the heart.  And raise hard questions. Who should take these people? What should the US do here? Is Lindsey Graham right that if we do not open our doors we should take down the Statue of Liberty? And how do we address this problem at its source? This hour On Point: the refugee crisis before us, and who should do what.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Kathleen Newland, senior fellow and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute.

Asra Nomani, Indian American journalist and author. Author of "Standing Alone in Mecca." (@AsraNomani)

Roger Cohen, columnist for the New York Times. (@NYTimesCohen)

Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University. Author of "Islam and the Arab Awakening" and "The Quest for Meaning." (@TariqRamadan)

From Tom’s Reading List

New York Times: Aylan Kurdi’s Europe — "Today, refugees clamor to get into Germany. It has said it expects 800,000 this year. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, raised in Germany’s East, has towered over other European leaders because her personal history clarifies the stakes. 'If Europe fails on this question of refugees, its close association with the universal rights of citizens will be destroyed,' she said. And then, almost heretically: 'German thoroughness is super, but right now what we need is German flexibility.'"

The Guardian: We asked all 22 presidential candidates to define a US refugee policy. Few had clear answers -- "As Europe struggles to host the millions of refugees who have fled war-torn Syria in particular, the image of Kurdi has posed a fundamental question to America: should the US open its borders to more? Last week, the Guardian contacted the campaigns of every candidate for the White House – 17 Republicans and five Democrats – to ask two questions. Should the US be accepting more refugees? And, as president, how would each candidate define US policy toward those seeking asylum from war-torn and impoverished countries?"

This program aired on September 9, 2015.

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