Immigration and The Holocaust: Debunking The Myth

[It is sometimes postulated that Jewish elites advocate for unfettered immigration in the event that another Holocaust might occur. This article debunks the myth that mass immigration would have been a solution to the Holocaust. This article was originally published on 17 September 2003.]

It's the standard canard against immigration reform: the last time this country had immigration under control (1924-65), it caused the exclusion of Jewish refugees—who ended up exterminated by the Nazis. Therefore (though this would not follow even if this premise were true) restrictions on immigration are immoral.

Because of the understandably strong emotional associations, this myth is highly effective. It must be debunked forthwith...

... most of the victims were residents of Poland, the USSR, and other Eastern European states that only became killing grounds after the German invasions of 1940-1. After these invasions, there was no way the victims could have escaped these countries. Before, there was no way to know that the Germans would win and be able to start their horrors.

We have to judge the Allied policy by what was known at the time—not by what we know in hindsight...

... an immigrant moves to a country permanently and becomes part of the society of the receiving country. A refugee moves to a country temporarily and remains a foreigner. Often, this distinction is expressed by the physical sequestration of the refugees in refugee camps. These exist to this day in Pakistan, Lebanon and other countries.

What should have happened in the Nazi era is that the international community should have set up refugee camps where these people could wait out the war and either go back to Europe, or to Israel, at war's end...

America is certainly not blameworthy for having refused Jewish immigration prior to WWII. And it is certainly not responsible for six million deaths, as some have implied...

Bottom line: refugee policy should not be used as a humanitarian excuse to increase immigration...

A brief history of US immigration policy and laws

Holocaust Survivor: Wake Up, We Are Losing Our Freedoms (Video)