The world is witnessing the largest refugee crisis since World War II. More than four million Syrians have fled conflict and violence in their home country, and 12 million more are displaced internally. For many of these refugees, finding safety and opportunity to rebuild their lives in a third country is the only hope they have.

However, some state governments and congressional leaders are calling for a stop to the U.S. refugee resettlement program. At a time when the United States needs to show humanitarian leadership, it would be a mistake to shut down a program that has saved millions of lives. As an organization that works with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey and also resettles refugees to the United States, we know firsthand that Syrian refugees have been victims of the same sort of terror inflicted last week upon Paris and Beirut. Most have lost loved ones to persecution and violence in addition to having had their homes destroyed.