Despite 'Genocide,' Mideast Christians Wait for Asylum at the Back of the Line

WASHINGTON -- America has now welcomed more than 13,000 refugees from Syria into the country.

Should the American people have a say in how many refugees are allowed in or get to decide which refugees they want to welcome? Some say it makes perfect sense.

"It's our country, it's our house. We decide to whom to open the doors, we decide to whom to offer a meal and maybe a bedroom. Of course that should go without saying, but it doesn't," Cliff May, President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said.

In his recent article, "Coming to America," May writes that he disagrees with those who want to close off America's borders completely. But thinks prioritizing who gets to come in by considering what's best for America is simply smart policy, especially when you consider that of the first 11,000 Syrians invited to live in America, just 56 of them are Christian.

"Both houses of Congress and the Obama administration have recognized that genocide is taking place in the Middle East. They've designated that there are victims of genocide," May explained to CBN News. "Genocide means whole communities being targeted for extermination."

"It seems to me that once you agree and understand that these communities are facing genocide you need to prioritize those victims and that means they get to the front of the line," he said.

It's inaction that runs counter to U.S. policy, not to mention immoral when you consider the lessons of WWII, Bosnia, and Rwanda. Instead, the United States has designated Christians in Syria and northern Iraq as "suffering" but told them they'll have to get in line. And even that isn't as easy as it may sound.

"They're afraid to go to the camps the U.N. has set up. It's not the U.N.'s fault exactly but they're not protected in those camps from Islamic State infiltrators, from criminal gangs, from other people in the camp who may be hostile to Christians for all sorts of reasons," May said.

Some members of Congress are working to give Christians alternative routes into the United States. In the meantime, allowing more Christian refugees could give Americans peace of mind.

"Al Qaeda, the Islamic State -- these are not equal opportunity employers, they don't employ Christians so it's easier to vet Christians because Christians are not going to come here in order to become suicide bombers for ISIS or al Qaeda. It doesn't work that way," May explained.

The Christian communities in the Middle East now under attack have survived centuries of hardships. May said the idea that they could be wiped out in a generation is "terrible."