Since the outbreak of their civil war in March of 2011, an estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes. Since 2012, the US has accepted 2,174 Syrian refugees. In this coming year, Barack Obama has committed to taking 10,000 Syrian refugees, multiplying the number of refugees taken in the past four years by five.

There is obvious risk in taking refugees from an area of conflict into our country. The republican majority has made it clear that they are against permitting . However, people seem to be treating this situation as if the United States have never gone through this before.