International migration expert Maurizio Albahari, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, says…

"US state governors’ concerns are legitimate, but misplaced. The Syrian passport found in Paris was not genuine. It is likely that the terrorist carrying it was neither a genuine refugee nor a Syrian national. In addition, a number of qualified US Federal agencies screen candidates for refugee resettlement, including their identification documents. The process is thorough and extensive, and no one is actually resettled unless their identity, background, motives, and affiliations have been ascertained beyond doubt. In Europe, there is a concern that ‘foreign fighters’ and potential terrorists might arrive taking advantage of refugee routes. This possibility cannot be ruled out a priori, but there are instruments to mitigate it. It should not result in others crushing the rights of those seeking asylum and the lives of Syrians who are escaping from state and non-state terror. It rather calls for better cooperation among national agencies in Europe; for further humanitarian assistance in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; and arguably for a more orderly and proactively managed arrival of people in need of protection. In the longer term, European leaders and societies need to understand and eradicate the factors that make segments of the European youth, born and raised in France or Belgium, likely to respond to a political-ideological battle that is not their own."

Albahari specializes in social-cultural anthropology and teaches on international migration, pluralism, and European societies. He is the author of Crimes of Peace: Mediterranean Migrations at the World's Deadliest Border, as well as several publications on migration and religion in Europe.

Albahari is available at 574-631-7759 (office) or [email protected]