ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical, political, economic, geographic, and cultural aspects of the problem. In 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were 65.3 million people displaced by "conflict and persecution", a population that would constitute the twenty-first largest nation in the world. The story of British and American policy on Jewish refugees during World War II is sobering. The most infamous case of the plight of Jewish refugees was the voyage of the St. Louis. In contrast to Germany, Great Britain and the United States have reverted back to their restrictive World War II refugee policies. The geographic proximity of Syria and Libya to Europe has given refugees hope that they might find a better life there. The influx of refugees correlates with a rise in right-wing, anti-immigrant movements, most alarmingly in France and Great Britain.
