One hundred million people are without a home in the world today, forced to flee trouble spots
by terror, civil war, or foreign conquest. The number is growing by 10 million people annually.
At its current trajectory, in five years, a population the size of Russia – 150 million — will be
without a home, forced to flee with nowhere to go.

But major governments, starting with our own, haven’t tackled the problem and are loathe even
to discuss it. The United States, which sets the pace for the world on humanitarian issues, has
largely shut its doors to refugees, due to political pressures at home, and European countries have
similarly closed opportunities for settlement– other than for refugees from Ukraine. Moreover,
countries have largely abandoned the post-World War II accords for dealing with refugees, with
the exception of Ukrainians. The 1951 Refugee Convention gives rights and legal protection to
refugees and requires neighboring countries to not return refugees to their homes if they’d be
endangered. Now, countries are shutting their doors, and returning refugees against their will –
openly disregarding international law without accountability.

It is the new “problem from Hell.”

We’ve invited Professor Jennica Larrison to explain the crisis and how we can address it,
starting in Baltimore, historically the second-ranking U.S. port of entry for refugees fleeing foreign
wars. She’s an Associate Professor and Executive Director of the School of Public and
International Affairs at the University of Baltimore and teaches courses on migration, global
governance, and human security. Prior to joining UBalt, she worked with the World Bank focusing
on issues of migration and social protection in East and Central Asia. She is an expert in migration
across regions, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Dr. Larrison has a
Ph.D. from George Washington University, a master’s degree from the University of California,
San Diego, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

Summing up the problem, she says: “ A policy of deterrence (of refugees) is never going to be
effective. Deterrence does not alter what is happening in the country of origin. We have to figure
out how to address immigrants coming into our country with a truly fair and transparent system.
If we fail today when the numbers are relatively small, in 20 years when we may have tens of
millions at our border, the consequences of our inaction today will be catastrophic.

Please join us May 17at the World Trade Center 21st floor to hear Dr. Larrison.