Hope for Syrian Refugees

Last week the Obama administration had said it was looking to accept 5,000 Syrian refugees in the coming fiscal year. But that number didn’t please many members of Congress. House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi, criticized the number for being to low. Just one day later, the Obama administration announced that it would be accepting 10,000 refugees. Although, Syrian refugees remain in the hands of the President and the State Department it has become a central issue for many members of Congress. On one hand, Democrats like Pelosi feel that President Obama needs to increase the quota for refugees so more Syrian refugees can be accepted. But on the other hand, Republican members of Congress are also putting pressure on the President to use caution with the number of refugees America accepts in the next year.

The Syrian refugee crisis was particularly interesting to me because its not something that necessarily falls within Congress’s jurisdiction, yet members of Congress have already had so much influence on the matter. Nancy Pelosi was able to have a huge influence on the number of refugees just by making a statement that she wanted President Obama to accept more. A multitude of other Democratic lawmakers have also called on Obama to accept more refugees in the coming year. This prompted me to think more about the relationship between Congress and the President. We have discussed the two major roles that are often conflicting. On one hand, Congress is a lawmaking body, yet members of Congress are also responsible to their constituencies.

So why would a lawmaking body be interested in the number of Syrian refugees American accepted? In my opinion, the commitment of members of Congress on this issue is a result of the responsibility members have to their constituencies. Pelosi has a very liberal constituency and it therefore, makes sense that she would fight strongly for this issue. I also think that members have become committed to the Syrian refugee crisis because Obama will likely struggle to make progress or change on the matter without the support of Congress and the American people. Therefore, those that do support accepting more refugees are being more vocal in order to bring it to the forefront of lawmakers and American’s attention. This perfectly exemplifies the constant struggle members of Congress face between their two roles. In cases like this, where the opinions of Americans and of lawmakers could make or break what happens to the Syrian refugees, members that both strongly support or strongly oppose have had to put pressure on the President and the State Department in order to fulfill their duel roles as members of Congress.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/u-s-take-10000-syrian-refugees/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/11/the-politics-of-the-syrian-refugee-crisis-explained/