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9 Photos That Capture What It Means For America To Show Compassion For Refugees

Refugees from Europe salute the U.S. flag as they study for citizenship examinations in New York, Nov. 22, 1938. Thousands have applied for admittance to the country in recent weeks. (AP Photo/John Lindsay) CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JOHN LINDSAY
Refugees from Europe salute the U.S. flag as they study for citizenship examinations in New York, Nov. 22, 1938. Thousands have applied for admittance to the country in recent weeks. (AP Photo/John Lindsay) CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JOHN LINDSAY

The United States has long taken in refugees from around the world, resettling more people than any other country — a fact that may not seem obvious in the current political atmosphere.

In the latest struggle for the country to lay out its welcome mat, many U.S. state governors have said they’re unwilling to let Syrian refugees into the country because of the perceived national security threat that they may pose, citing the recent attacks in Paris and Beirut. On Thursday, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at halting refugees from entering the country. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) went so far as to say that the country should not accept orphans under the age of five who are seeking asylum.

But over the decades, the United States has accepted thousands of refugees from countries around the world — including more than 784,000 refugees since September 2001. Of the 2,174 Syrian refugees admitted to the United States in that time, none of them have been arrested or deported on terrorism-related grounds, according to a White House statement. Here are just some of the examples in the past century:

Britain

FILE — In this July 1, 1940 file photo, British refugee children, part of a group of 60 under 15 years of age, climb up on the rail of the Holland-America ship Volendam as they approach New York after a voyage from Southampton, England. In the Battle of Britain from June to October 1940, RAF fighters clashed with the German Luftwaffe over the skies of Britain. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo
FILE — In this July 1, 1940 file photo, British refugee children, part of a group of 60 under 15 years of age, climb up on the rail of the Holland-America ship Volendam as they approach New York after a voyage from Southampton, England. In the Battle of Britain from June to October 1940, RAF fighters clashed with the German Luftwaffe over the skies of Britain. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo

Holland was invaded in May 1940 and in July of that year, the Dutch liner Volendam arrived in New York carrying 233 passengers, including 79 British child refugees. At the time, the Association of University Women annoucned that “it had agreed to find comparable homes for from 3,000 to 6,000 children of British University graduates. The children would arrive within a month,” The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time.

France

These children, bound for Kenosha, Wis., were all smiles when they arrived in New York, June 21, 1940 aboard the U.S. refugee liner Washington, and for good reason. They escaped bombings twice while fleeing across France, one at Boulogne. They are (left to right): Antoinette Von Gastel, 16, and her sister, Elizabeth, 15, Helen Graf, 12, of Paris, a friend of the children of Mrs. Joseph Von Gastel of Antwerp; Corry Von Gastel, 14, and Hubert Von Gastel, 8. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo
These children, bound for Kenosha, Wis., were all smiles when they arrived in New York, June 21, 1940 aboard the U.S. refugee liner Washington, and for good reason. They escaped bombings twice while fleeing across France, one at Boulogne. They are (left to right): Antoinette Von Gastel, 16, and her sister, Elizabeth, 15, Helen Graf, 12, of Paris, a friend of the children of Mrs. Joseph Von Gastel of Antwerp; Corry Von Gastel, 14, and Hubert Von Gastel, 8. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo

Cuba

Led by twin girls, a new group of Cuban child refugees arrive on May 17, 1962 at their temporary home, the Catholic Refugee Center in Florida City, 35 miles from Miami. Each ticket for the flight from Havana to Miami cost $25. The child refugee flow adds up to a lot of American dollars for the Castro government, which has not tried to stop it. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo
Led by twin girls, a new group of Cuban child refugees arrive on May 17, 1962 at their temporary home, the Catholic Refugee Center in Florida City, 35 miles from Miami. Each ticket for the flight from Havana to Miami cost $25. The child refugee flow adds up to a lot of American dollars for the Castro government, which has not tried to stop it. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo

Germany

Fifty German-Jewish refugee children, ranging in age from 5 to 13, salute the American flag, June 5, 1939, at a suburban Philadelphia estate where they are learning about their new country. All entered under immigration quotas, a Philadelphia lawyer paying their passage. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo
Fifty German-Jewish refugee children, ranging in age from 5 to 13, salute the American flag, June 5, 1939, at a suburban Philadelphia estate where they are learning about their new country. All entered under immigration quotas, a Philadelphia lawyer paying their passage. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo

Vietnam

Actress Ina Balin, foreground, puts comforting arms around a Vietnamese mother whose child is being put aboard an American C-141, to be adopted in the United States, April 11, 1975 at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut airport. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich) CREDIT: AP Photo/Neal Ulevich
Actress Ina Balin, foreground, puts comforting arms around a Vietnamese mother whose child is being put aboard an American C-141, to be adopted in the United States, April 11, 1975 at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut airport. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich) CREDIT: AP Photo/Neal Ulevich

Cambodia

Nou Moeur, a Cambodian refugee, carries his daughter on this shoulders as his wife Orrin, right, and his children, and brother Nou Samean, sister Nou Yat, rear, are shown outside their row home in Harrisburg, Penn., March 17, 1983. The extended family was forced to move from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, N.Y., after being subjected to muggings and other acts of violence. Several other Cambodian refugee families joined them. (AP Photo/Paul Vathis) CREDIT: AP Photo/Paul Vathis
Nou Moeur, a Cambodian refugee, carries his daughter on this shoulders as his wife Orrin, right, and his children, and brother Nou Samean, sister Nou Yat, rear, are shown outside their row home in Harrisburg, Penn., March 17, 1983. The extended family was forced to move from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, N.Y., after being subjected to muggings and other acts of violence. Several other Cambodian refugee families joined them. (AP Photo/Paul Vathis) CREDIT: AP Photo/Paul Vathis

Tibet

Lama Dezhung Labrang fingers a Buddhist rosary while the three sons of Lama Jigdal Sakyapa try to find Tibet and Seattle, Wash., on a globe, Jan. 9, 1961. The boys are, from left, Lotroy, 2, Kunga, 4, and Zayang Dorje, 6, who is heir to the throne of the Sakyanas. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo
Lama Dezhung Labrang fingers a Buddhist rosary while the three sons of Lama Jigdal Sakyapa try to find Tibet and Seattle, Wash., on a globe, Jan. 9, 1961. The boys are, from left, Lotroy, 2, Kunga, 4, and Zayang Dorje, 6, who is heir to the throne of the Sakyanas. (AP Photo) CREDIT: AP Photo

Iraq

In this Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 photo, Iraqi refugee Rawaa Bahoo smiles with her children Marvin 8, left, Maryana, 4, center, and Maryam, 5, in Farmington Hills, Mich. Tens of thousands have fled Michigan’s troubled economy in recent years, yet Iraqi refugees continue to move there despite a U.S. government policy trying to limit refugee resettlement in the Detroit area. Family ties and cultural support from the region’s large Middle Eastern community appear no match for the U.S. effort, which tries to place refugees in cities where they stand a better chance of financial success. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) CREDIT: AP Photo/Paul Sancya
In this Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 photo, Iraqi refugee Rawaa Bahoo smiles with her children Marvin 8, left, Maryana, 4, center, and Maryam, 5, in Farmington Hills, Mich. Tens of thousands have fled Michigan’s troubled economy in recent years, yet Iraqi refugees continue to move there despite a U.S. government policy trying to limit refugee resettlement in the Detroit area. Family ties and cultural support from the region’s large Middle Eastern community appear no match for the U.S. effort, which tries to place refugees in cities where they stand a better chance of financial success. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) CREDIT: AP Photo/Paul Sancya

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Some U.S. politicians have recently emphasized this longstanding policy history. President Obama recently scoffed at Republican politicians who oppose admitting Syrian refugees, stating, “Apparently they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America. At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three year old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also weighed in saying that the United States has always welcomed immigrants and refugees. She said, “We have made people feel that if they did their part, they sent their kids to school, they worked hard, there would be a place for them in America.”