Why wouldn't the US accept Jewish refugees?

Answer 1

If you're asking "Why didn't the US take as many refugees in proportion to its size as, say, the UK?" then there are several possible factors, acting in combination. The historian Roberta Feuerlicht claimed in her book"The Fate Of The Jews" that the main reason was lack of support for Immigration into the US - or even opposition - by the US Jewish community, who were worried that imigration could create an anti-semitic backlash from which they would suffer. To the extent that anyone was willing to discuss this claim, it was controversial, but even more Feuerlicht, a respected historian and successful writer) complained that her book was deliberately ignored, with for example her publisher cancelling publicity for it. (See e.g. http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/052785/850527003.html)

Other answers often cited: the Depression (not really plausible, as other countries that had less influential Jewish communities and were at least as badly hit took more immigrants per head of population) and anti-semitism in the Roosevelt administration (unlikely, as Jews accounted for 15% of FDR's senior appointments to office, compared to 3% of US population.)

Finally, it must be remembered that at the time the US could have offered German Jews a refuge, Hitler's extermination policy was not yet in place.

Answer 2

The United States government allowed the bulk of the Jewish Refugees to immigrate to the US. Those who were sick with contagious diseases were not allowed. Another large group went to Israel.

Both countries became strained from the influx and had to halt any more immigration into their countries. Many Jews chose to go to the United Kingdom and other nations. The US was justified in limiting the amount to enter the US. It takes a phenomenal amount of effort on the part of the Immigration officials to process hundreds of thousands of people immigrating all at once. It also requires a lot of medical personnel to check them all.

Many of the Jews came here penniless. New York City ended up having to absorb the majority of them. There were not enough jobs for the GIs much less all the immigrants. It took many years for the change of a wartime economy to a peacetime economy to adjust and for the government and communities to help everyone to thrive again.

It is interesting to note the United States has more Jews than any other nation in the world except Israel.

Answer 3

The US subscribed to the same theories of eugenics that the Nazis based their racial supremacy on. But rather than sterilizing or killing anyone they put restrictions on immigration, placing greater restrictions on the types of people that they did not want in society. Jews, especially the poorer eastern European Jews were one group that was not wanted.