Iran conflict won’t trigger Biden-style refugee replay, expert predicts
Iran’s instability is unlikely to trigger a Syrian- or Afghanistan-style refugee crisis, a top immigration expert told Fox News Digital, even as questions mount over what comes next for the...
By Fox News · Fox News
Iran ’s instability is unlikely to trigger a Syrian- or Afghanistan-style refugee crisis, a top immigration expert told Fox News Digital, even as questions mount over what comes next for the Iranian people once the fighting subsides. With Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in an airstrike, several top officials dead and competing factions vying for control, questions are mounting over whether Iran’s turmoil could trigger a refugee crisis. However, given the geography and environment in Iran, a mass refugee exodus appears unlikely, according to Andrew "Art" Arthur – a nationally-recognized national security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies. NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION "It's actually an interesting question, and there are a couple of things to keep in mind," Arthur said in a recent interview. "One is Iran is about twice the size of Texas. It's, I think, roughly the size as Alaska. It is a huge country, and I think there are 93 million people there, but it's still a big country and most of it is untouched by the conflict, so it's not like individuals couldn't relocate in-country and be perfectly safe." Unlike Afghanistan, he added, the U.S. and the West don’t have a previous footprint on the ground and don’t have people inside the country offering assistance. AS AIRSTRIKES RAIN DOWN ON THE IRANIAN REGIME, CAN A FRACTURED OPPOSITION UNITE TO LEAD IF IT FALLS? "[W]e don't have the ability to do something like President Biden did where we load up C-130s with everybody we can get our hands on and fly them to the United States. So, that's a huge distinction." During the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal , chaos reigned at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. military planes with refugees hanging off of them flew in and out of Kabul while Taliban forces created deadly roadblocks and uncertainty for those trying to flee. The operation led to a huge influx of largely unvetted Afghan nationals into…