What if the United States and the rest of the nations applied the same concept of capitalism that states use to woo businesses to the world’s people – where people were able to choose where they wanted to live based on the opportunities and quality of life a country offered instead of people essentially being prisoners of their motherland?

The immigration crisis in the U.S. and around the world is only a crisis because of the lack of will to fix it.

This was brought home to me during the Clinton Global Initiative, revived after a hiatus of six years, where I once again felt transported into an alternate universe of progress, not just possibility; humanity instead of the cruelty that has seized hold of out-of-the-fringes gaggle of nativists, populists, nationalists looking and sounding horrifying like 1930s Nazis (as so stirringly shown in Ken Burns documentary, “The United States and the Holocaust”) and governments around the world that shut off paths of escape.

The most moving and inspiring session, simply themed “Home,” brought home the reality of the global refugee crisis – an explosion of 100 million desperate people displaced by war, violence, climate crisis, hunger, poverty – the most since World War II. Climate refugees alone now number 21 million and are projected to increase to 200 million by 2050 – showing how the issue of refugees, migration, immigration are inextricably linked with climate, public health, food insecurity, political repression and instability (issues that President Biden raised in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly). People can’t turn a blind eye, or worse, as MAGA Republicans like Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott have demonstrated, actively, even extra-judicially, obstruct solutions.

There needs to be an immediate response to catastrophes that force thousands to flee – by immediately setting up food, clothing, shelter, medical services, communities and long-term responses.

Among the most creative and engaged in this pursuit are the very people whose lives demonstrate the benefits to society when the human potential of immigrants can be unleashed:

Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of Moderna and founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering (a life sciences venture capital company), the grandson of survivors of the Armenian genocide, recalled his own experience in 1975 as a 13-year-old fleeing Lebanon’s civil war and how it ultimately contributed to his success. “When you have had the experience of being displaced, you are more open to the challenges, the struggle [and thinking outside box].”

“What propels you forward?” Hillary Clinton asked. “Almost losing life is a damn good motivator,” Afeyan said. “I was told 50 years ago, the U.S. is a melting pot. Those words stayed with me. If the whole world can accept refugees, not as others, but make them feel like the majority, let them show the way to new opportunity, take risk, it will inspire ‘native folks,’ who may have lost that [mindset, energy, interest, motivation].”

It’s a different mindset, he said. For refugees, “home is in the future, not the past – home of the past was taken away. People who are oriented to making the future better than the present are what we need to make better society by definition….Give a chance to survivors who failed to die, to revive, to establish a new life. After that, they don’t need a lot of help.”

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and founder of Chobani, is another. He founded Tent Partnership for Refugees after attending an earlier CGI, which is dedicated to hiring and training refugees in the Chobani plants he establishes (including New York), and recruiting other companies to do the same. An event he just held resulted in companies committing to hire 23,000 in the US–among them Tyson Foods, Hilton, Marriott, Pfizer, Amazon. “We have 260 large multinational companies in our network actively hiring, training, advocating for refugees.”

Another company actively engaged in improving lives for refugees – and their host country, – is IKEA, which is actively helping alleviate Jordan’s substantial burden in hosting one million Syrian refugees.

Of the Fortune 500 companies, 102 were founded by immigrants and 117 more by children of immigrants. Nearly 3.2 million immigrants run their own businesses employing many more millions at neighborhood stores, restaurants, professional services. Immigrants paid $492 billion in federal and other taxes in 2019.

“It’s good for society but also good for business,” Ulukaya. But while it doesn’t take long to convince CEOs, “one of biggest obstacle for companies is how the topic is used politically in very unpleasant way.”

The breakdown, said David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee, is the shameful reaction of governments to the refugee crisis.

“Governments are retreating from solutions. It takes private sector to come up with solutions, persuade governments to come in,” Miliband said.

Private companies could be the innovators, adapting the systems they already have in place. Walmart, Target – both with philanthropic foundations – and Amazon to set up disaster relief funds and source, store and then distribute essential supplies. So when a California community has to flee wildfires, a Pakistan community has to flee flooding, a Ukrainian community has to flee Russian bombs, a Puerto Rican community has to flee hurricane, they can get a sense of how many men, women, boys and girls are displaced, what the climate is like where they are sheltering, and send boxes of clothing, toiletries and essentials.

Apple, Microsoft, IBM can supply ipads, i-phones so displaced people can continue online education, access telemedicine, do e-commerce, and stay informed.

Solar power and battery companies can supply portable energy supplies (it’s vitally important for security to keep lights on).

Financial services companies like Mastercard, Visa and American Express can assist displaced people to set up e-commerce businesses, provide micro-loans to families.

Mastercard, in fact, is applying some of its products to crisis situations and people who need it, related Jody Barnett, Head of Global Cities & Transit and Mobility for Mastercard. In Ukraine, it is offering a Star Path acceleration program for startups.

“Cities know how they benefit from immigrants,” she said. “Even these last six years when we saw toxicity in national politics to refugees, citizens in localities have been innovating inclusive practices that enable refugees to make their economic and social contributions as soon as possible.”

Indeed, Welcome.US, was launched a year ago in direct response to the urgency to resettle Afghans escaping the Taliban, to empower a broader range of ordinary Americans to assist resettling refugees. “Refugees need goods and services, but also friends and neighbors,” said Nazanin Ash, CEO.