Discuss “How Things Work: Political Asylum”

What if someone barged into your apartment or dorm room in the middle of the night, threatening you, your family, and your livelihood? What if civil war in Pennsylvania forced you to move to Canada? What if the government was critical of your political views, suggesting not-too-subtly that you get out of Dodge? Although these situations sound far-fetched in Pittsburgh, millions around the world have left their homes and countries because they fear for their lives in similar situations. These people are refugees.

World leaders were forced to confront refugee issues in the aftermath of World War II, when millions of Europeans wandered aimlessly through a battered continent. Although several international agencies existed to provide support for...