The Syrian Refugee Crisis has been ongoing since 2011. With refugees now overwhelming Europe,  states in the U.S.  have been debating whether or not to accept the asylum seekers. Approximately 40 years ago after the end of the Vietnam War,  the United States took in approximately 120,000  refugees from Vietnam. At the time, Americans feared whether or not the U.S. could handle the immigration influx and suspicions about communism ran rampant. These fears reflect the current hesitance in accepting Syrian refugees, and the growing Islamophobia.

Some of the  Vietnamese refugees that were accepted in the 1970s have become members of the Palo Alto community. Included in this group are Daniel Ho, parent of Palo Alto High School freshman, Natalie Ho and junior, Andrew Ho, and Tonya Nguyen, parent of Palo Alto High School senior, Christina Le, and class of 2014 alumna, Julianne Le. Daniel escaped in 1985 while Tonya escaped in 1976.