The Refugee’s Blues and the Silence of Complicity

In Refugee Blues, Auden adopts the voice of a displaced Jewish refugee, documenting the rejection, humiliation, and fear that pervaded the experience of those fleeing Nazi Germany:

Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look in the atlas and you’ll find it there.

This sense of dislocation is not just physical but existential—an entire identity stripped away. The refugees in Auden’s poem are met with indifference, much like Niemöller describes in First They Came, a poem about the dangers of political and social passivity:

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Communist.

Both poems expose a brutal truth: societies that allow xenophobia to fester inevitably become complicit in oppression. Auden’s speaker recounts how officials dismiss their pleas for safety—

If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread.

—while Niemöller’s piece emphasizes that people remain silent when the persecution of others does not directly affect them. Eventually, however, silence ensures that no one is left to resist oppression:

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

These themes resonate today in the way nations selectively close their borders and create policies that dehumanize refugees. The ease with which right-wing leaders frame migrants as a threat is a chilling reminder of the past—only the targets have changed.

The U.S.: A Warning Repeated

Immigration has become one of the most divisive issues in the United States, and under President Trump’s second term, restrictive policies have intensified. In his first weeks back in office, he signed Executive Order 14159, significantly expanding deportations and stripping federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions. His administration’s plans to detain up to 30,000 migrants in Guantanamo Bay—a move eerily reminiscent of wartime internment camps—highlight the increasingly punitive approach to immigration enforcement.

President Trump’s rhetoric, much like that of far-right leaders in Europe, echoes the dismissive sentiments found in Refugee Blues: refugees are cast as burdens, criminals, or invaders rather than human beings seeking safety. This approach fuels nationalist and extremist movements that thrive on fearmongering. Niemöller’s warning about remaining silent in the face of rising authoritarianism feels particularly relevant as these policies take hold.

Europe: Nationalism on the Rise

The anti-immigrant wave is not confined to the U.S. In Italy, Hungary, France, and the UK, nationalist parties have gained power by exploiting fears about immigration. The Brexit campaign was fueled in part by concerns over migrant workers, while far-right leaders in France and Germany frame refugees as threats to national security.

Auden’s poem could just as easily describe today’s displaced populations—Afghans, Syrians, Ukrainians—many of whom now face hostility from governments once eager to profess their humanitarian values. Niemöller’s words remind us that indifference enables oppression, and the rhetoric used against migrants today can—and likely will—be used against other vulnerable groups in the future.

Canada: A Different Path—For Now

Unlike its neighbors, Canada has largely resisted the pull toward anti-immigrant extremism. It continues to welcome refugees through both government and private sponsorship programs, and public sentiment remains relatively favorable toward immigration. However, Canada is not immune to the fears that drive exclusionary policies elsewhere. Political groups have attempted to stoke anxieties about border security and asylum seekers. While these efforts have not yet gained significant traction, Niemöller’s warning remains relevant:

Then they came for the asylum seekers, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not an asylum seeker.

If history teaches anything, it is that these sentiments rarely remain confined to one group. Canada’s relative openness is not guaranteed—it is a choice that must be reaffirmed continually.

A Final Thought: Remembering the Lessons of the Past

Auden and Niemöller’s poems stand as powerful reminders that history has a way of repeating itself when fear overcomes compassion. Refugee Blues captures the immediate, personal pain of displacement, while First They Came warns of the consequences of societal complacency.

Both poems urge us to recognize that the exclusion, rejection, and mistreatment of migrants today is not just an issue for those affected—it is a test of our shared humanity. And as history has shown, when we fail that test, the cost is far greater than we ever anticipate.