Winter is here, and Syrian refugees are embarking on a cold and dangerous trip. As they seek asylum across Europe, America is questioning what they should do to help.

According to Amnesty International, there are more than four million refugees from Syria across Europe. Some European countries are welcoming the refugees while others are not letting them in at all.

Every country seems to have their own plans on how to handle the situation, so the question is, how should America deal with the problem at hand?

Because of the Paris attacks and San Bernardino shootings, the majority of people across the world are pointing a faulty finger towards Syrian refugees; however, not all Syrian refugees are malicious.

Some social media users say: if you poison 10 M&Ms and put them in a bowl of 100 M&Ms, are you still going to eat them?

That is something we all need to think about in this situation. Anybody can come to America with the proper documents and procedures, but there should not be exceptions made for them.

The problem is they do not have reliable identification– anybody can pose as a Syrian refugee and come into America when they actually are a member of ISIS or any other anti-American group in the Middle East.  We do not know who they are– possibly leading to terrorism.

After the Paris attacks, CNN news reported that an attacker’s passport said he was a Syrian refugee, however, the passport was fake. The attacker moved around a lot and ended up in a refugee camp in Opatovac, Croatia.

He made his way to France by posing as a refugee and made the attack along with others. The terrorists took advantage of the Syrian refugee crisis. Others are going to continually do it in order to get into America so they can spread their hatred and harmful acts of violence.

After the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the many flaws in the  immigration system were exposed. Tashfeen Malik, female shooter, was a threat on social media because she was showing support for terrorist groups and tweeting hateful things against America before to America. Immigration failed to check her social media activity and she was granted a fiance’s visa according to ABC News.

Some may say we do not have time to go through social media accounts or very in-depth background checks, yet the Obama administration and other liberals want to intensify background checks on Americans for purchasing a gun.

The shooters in the San Bernardino attack did not pose as refugees but they did slip right through the immigration system that has to have failed one too many times. That is going to keep on happening so America cannot afford to take in large masses of people who we do not really know.

America has seemed to fail to connect the dots between terrorism, immigration, and the Middle East.

Students at York agree on some similarities on how to handle the situation.

“I think we should help the refugees but that doesn’t necessarily mean to bring them into America,” said Stephenie Tompos, sophomore.”I think we should give them food and water.”

Most people are struggling with how to solve this issue. There is the human factor. We do not want to leave innocent people in a dangerous area, but also, we have to be extremely careful about who we bring in.

“I think that countries must act in their best interest for national security,” said Annie Grasse, sophomore. “We have to keep in mind that these are people with families who have already had to relocate. These moves are very tough, and these innocent people need to be dealt with care.” 

Others disagree and would like to bring Syrian refugees to America.

“[America should] take in a certain amount but don’t let them all in,” said Madeline DeGrace, sophomore. “Make the visa process harder.” 

There are many sides to the issue and people are still very timid when dealing with this issue.

Security comes first so the best solution is to deal with the issue over there. Dealing with the issue over in Syria means giving struggling families food and water.

Private charities should also aid the struggling Syrians by rebuilding refugee camps. If rebuilding takes too long or is too dangerous, then refugees should go to Jordan where new camps can be created temporarily until the war is over.

In addition, the United States should help Syrians take back their land by defeating ISIS. We should take care of them but not put ourselves in danger in the meantime. With this solution, you get to help the Syrian refugees and stay safe.

Overall, this crisis is not ours to handle. There are people suffering, so there cannot be complete abandonment. Other countries and private charities can help if they want to, but we should not allow Syrian refugees to come to America until we make our security stronger and are immigration process safer.