Last year, the continent of Europe was faced with an extremely difficult decision. The question of whether it should aid the countries who are being populated by these refugees, and the countries whose citizens are fleeing, is one that is intensely debated. But the fact of the matter is, if nothing is done soon, European countries may be forced to begin locking down their borders. Many countries in Europe are simply not seemingly able to handle such an influx of citizens, while others simply do not want to. For this reason the United States should step in and attempt to help with the European immigration crisis.

Helping with the immigration crisis does not necessarily mean providing all of them with refuge in the United States, like many like to believe. Rather, the United States should help in other ways. While we should take in some refugees, if the United States were to take in too many immigrants, it could lead to what some predict to be a loss of jobs for Americans, as well as an increase in potential homelessness. Considering the split in opinion of American citizens on whether we should allow refugees in, it would be very difficult to allow such a thing.

The United States should help the refugees, because not doing so strictly goes against the reputation the United States has spent years building up. The United States is seen as somewhat of a “big brother” to those countries, and not helping may damage some of the ties we have developed with certain middle eastern countries throughout the years. It would be cruel to not help them. When people are being gassed and massacred by their own countries, or are unable to provide their families with food or clothes due to economic drought, they should be helped, regardless of whatever preconceived notion that some citizens of our country have regarding the situation.

The fact that Europe is considering closing its borders due to the large amount of immigrants it is receiving speaks largely to the severity of the problem. Europe has always prided itself on its open borders, and the European Union has helped to maintain a relatively friendly relationship between the countries. Shutting down the borders will affect everyone; the countries and the people who may live there, the refugees trying to find better opportunities, and even tourists who may be visiting these countries. With open borders, visitors and citizens are able to leave a country freely, and travel somewhere else with ease. It is so easy in fact, that some are able to commute from their country to work in a different country on a daily basis. The openness of Europe is one of the continent’s largest appeals, and it would be a shame if they were forced to close their borders to everyone, including each other.

If Europe is forced to take refugees into account, so should the United States. This is a global problem, not a European problem, and it will affect all of us. In fact, many of the European countries receiving refugees are not receiving refugees of European descent, rather, they are receiving refugees of Middle Eastern, and even African descent. This is not a problem that arose inside of Europe, but a problem which Europe is having to deal with due to the convenience of their location to the countries in need. If the United States does not step in and attempt to ease the crisis in Europe, there will be global repercussions which will affect all of us.