Since the United States went to war with Iraq in 2001, it has been considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world. In 2007, it was named one the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world. Well over 1.8 million Iraqi refugees were displaced from their homes, while an additional 100,000 have chosen to flee to the dangerous nearby countries of Jordan and Syria.

United States politicians and Iraqi refugee advocates have demanded a United States increase in Iraqi refugee funding, particularly Iraqi refugees who cooperated with American forces despite the danger in which the assistance placed them.

Officials had predicted an Iraqi refugee explosion following the start of the war; instead that explosion came in 2007, with the number of Iraqi refugees seeking access to the United States skyrocketing. Increased inter-fighting amongst religious groups in Iraq has been said to be one of the causes for the increase in Iraqi refugees seeking entry to the United States. This followed an abnormally high number of violent attacks in 2006.

In recent years, Iraqi refugee numbers have boomed, with two million Iraqi refugees fleeing the country. Most Iraqi refugees have not received legal status in any of the countries they have fled to, particularly Jordan and Syria, despite the danger that is to be rampant in those countries. Like many refugees, Iraqi refugees have been forced to trade one dangerous area for another. There are hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees that have fled to these areas despite the lack of protection. Most do not have the ability to return home.

According to the United Nations, Iraqi refugees have had little to no resources at their disposal, including lack of health care, food, and educational programs for children. Democrats in the United States have argued that to deny Iraqi refugees, particularly the ones who helped American forces, access to the country would be along the lines of demoting an employee even though their work performance has been exceptional.

The goals of the American Refugee Committee are to help displaced persons, whether involved with the Iraqi refugee crisis or any other refugee crisis’s, by helping them to rebuild their lives beyond the short-term fix of refugee camps and temporary removal.

Democratic lawmakers, with help from the American Refugee Committee are seeking to change American policies regarding refugees, particularly due to the fact that over five million Iraqi refugees have been displaced. This agenda includes increasing the amount of funds available set aside to help displaced Iraqi refugees be brought into the United States, especially those that helped the United States win the war between the United States and Iraq.

The Iraqi refugee crisis has not been helped by the fact that the United States has only promised admittance for 12,000 Iraqi refugees per year. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that only about 500 Iraqi refugees have actually been allowed into the United States. Other countries are accepting even fewer Iraqi refugees but Democrats hope to change American policies soon.

Meanwhile, politicians refuse to come to an agreement about the Iraqi refugee crisis. The United Nations has said that neither Jordan or Syria, the nearby dangerous countries that most Iraqi refugees flee to, cannot afford the costs of hosting the millions of Iraqi refugees who are a result of the Iraqi refugee crisis. The United Nations along with the American Refugee Committee has publicly stated that providing food, clothing and shelter should not be the job of the country that is hosting the displaced Iraqi refuge alone.

The United States had originally hoped that the middle and upper classes of Iraq, the doctors, lawyers and other professionals, would be the Iraqi refugees that would seek solace in the United States and further enhance American society. Instead, the Iraqi refugee crisis has affected all classes in Iraqi culture.