From Burma to The United States: Why Our Humanitarian Promise Matters

By Myra Dahgaypaw on July 2, 2025

For generations, the United States has stood for many as a beacon of hope — a sanctuary for those forced to flee home because of violence, persecution, and despair. Our refugee resettlement program and other humanitarian programs have been more than policy tools — they’ve been lifelines for so many people, including myself. 

My name is Myra Dahgaypaw, and I am a refugee from Burma who found safety and hope in America. I didn’t choose to leave my homeland, but when Burma’s military junta made it impossible to live safely, I escaped by necessity — leaving behind everything familiar. When I arrived in America, I carried nothing but hope for a future free from fear. Resettlement gave me the chance to rebuild my life. I learned English, found work, and began contributing to my new community. America became home. 

Today, there are more than 120 million displaced people seeking safety, seeking refuge. Refugee resettlement, asylum, Temporary Protected Status, and other humanitarian parole programs have rescued many families from unimaginable suffering and given them the chance to rebuild, contribute, and thrive on American soil. 

And today, those protections are threatened. 

Today, we are witnessing a systematic campaign to dismantle the very programs that define our moral leadership. We are seeing legal status stripped from lawful immigrants, Temporary Protected Status terminated for vulnerable populations like our Afghan allies, family reunification denied as travel bans are affecting entire communities who have waited decades to rejoin with family members. The refugee resettlement program — which has for decades received bipartisan support — has been broadly suspended for a majority of refugees, despite court orders and public outcry to reinstate it. Families who passed intensive screenings are now left in a dangerous limbo. Mothers are separated from their children. Children are growing up without knowing their grandparents. 

It is our neighbors who are suffering. Our neighbors who for the history of this country have contributed and supported the strength and growth of America. Let me be clear, refugees and immigrants give more than they take. 

In South Dakota, we make wind turbine blades for clean energy. In Minnesota, we work in food production, feeding families nationwide. We run restaurants and own small businesses. Studies have shown that we pay billions more in taxes than we receive in benefits. We are teachers, doctors, engineers — Americans who chose this country. 

Make no mistake: these are deliberately targeted efforts on Black and Brown immigrants. What’s happening now is calculated cruelty designed to reshape who gets to call America home. 

But here’s what they don’t understand: America’s strength doesn’t come from walls or barriers. It comes from our willingness to extend our hand to those in desperate need. Preserving our refugee program isn’t just a humanitarian obligation — it’s about who we are as Americans. 

We cannot stand silent while our humanitarian legacy and our moral leadership is being dismantled before our eyes. We strongly call for the immediate restart to refugee resettlement for all forcibly displaced people. We urge lawmakers to restore and invest in asylum access. We want Congress to pass the SECURE Act to provide a path to citizenship for TPS holders who have already made America their home. 

America has always been a refuge for the world’s most vulnerable. We cannot let them steal that from us now. When we retreat from welcoming, we abandon our own values. Today, we choose to welcome. Today, we choose hope.