On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver destroyed the hypocrisy surrounding refugee crisis in the United States. While 31 US governors oppose the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states, he pointed out that the notion among US officials, who have second thoughts about receiving Syrian refugees in the United States, is “pretty extreme, but also pretty meaningless”.
He went on to compare the reactions toward resettling Syrian refugees to those of 1939 toward the Jews when US authorities turned a ship containing more than 900 mostly Jewish refugees back to Europe.
He added: “Every generation has had its own ugly reaction to refugees whether they are the Irish, Vietnamese, Cubans or Haitians and those fears have been broadly unfounded.”
Oliver proceeded to explain the rigorous vetting process for Syrian refugees before even getting near a plane, which usually takes between 18 and 24 months to complete. He said:
“This is the most rigorous vetting anyone has to face before being let in this country. No terrorist in their right mind would choose this path when the visa process is far less effort.”