JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A panel at Florida Coastal School of Law on Tuesday gave students a chance to get their questions answered about refugees coming to the United States.
People who work with refugees coming to the U.S. from Syria and other countries shared their perspective, along with experts on the legal and political sides of the issue.
"The questions that I have are all economic. Our hearts are open. Our history is there. How do we pay for all this? How do we do that when you have 49 percent of America on welfare ourselves?" one student asked. "We can't find jobs for the people in our own country. How are we supposed to find jobs for whoever is coming here?"
Elain Carson, executive director of World Relief Jacksonville, a group that helps refugees resettle, said ultimately, it's a decision made by the federal government, but that in Jacksonville, some employers seek out refugees.
"The jobs are out there, and we hear there's many Americans that aren't willing to take them, (because) they don't want to work for the $7.50 or $8 an hour," Carson said.
That was just one of many topics tackled by the panel.
MORE: State Department website on refugee program
Panelists answered questions about the refugee process, the recent House bill blocking refugee resettlement of Syrians and Iraqis, and the legal authority governors had in the decision-making process.
Dr. Parvez Ahmed, a professor at the University of North Florida, talked about how refugees are portrayed and, often, in his opinion, demonized in media.
He encouraged those at the discussion to fight misinformation by searching for the truth themselves.
"The only way we can create a more informed citizenry is by having civic conversations about difficult issues," Ahmed said.
Students said the conversation left them more informed.
"I think it's great. I think this opens the doors to people who are just sitting there listening regularly to television shows and are just listening to the politics and the politicians and not really getting into the depths of what really are the issues," Lisa Chegini said.
"It's clear that there is not a clear understanding of really what's going on, and that's what we have to get to is what is the situation and how do we resolve it," student Daniel Montgomery said.
Students said that the refugee crisis can be a very emotional topic for people on both sides, but they said the discussion helped them really narrow in on the facts and not rhetoric.
A lot of students said from news reports, presidential debates and things they read online, it was hard to determine what information was accurate.
The panelists gave students some help with that. One main place they told students to look was on the State Department website for more information about the refugee process.