Keep the Door Open for Immigrants
Immigration is a cornerstone of America. The idea that you can arrive in this country and pursue your dreams with a genuine chance of succeeding is rooted in our foundational tenets and a faith in democracy that assures life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Immigration is as American as apple pie.
People have been led to believe that America is experiencing a "rush" of immigration. The truth is, our numbers haven't even touched the era of the "Mass Migration" in the late 1800s to 1920s. In the early 1900s, we saw an annual arrival that accounted for more than 1% of the total American population at the time.
We saw fear then, too. Irish and Italian people experienced discrimination. Protestants feared the arrival of Catholics and fought to keep them out of any position of power. In the West, multiple laws and widespread racism was inflicted upon Chinese immigrants arriving for a new life. Similar to some of the opinions held today, citizens back then believed American culture would be wiped out. Now it seems silly, as people celebrate St. Patrick's Day with glee and the idea of "fearing" Italians seems ridiculous.
Today, not only do Americans celebrate holidays based on immigrant cultures that were once disdained, many celebrate their immigrant heritage as well. More than any other people, Americans love to explore our roots. We research our genealogy to learn where our ancestors came from and proudly proclaim ourselves to be Slavic, Irish, German, etc. To be American is to be a part of every other culture!
The Case for Immigration
With such a large portion of American society being of direct immigrant descent, why does fear over immigration seem to be increasing? Ultimately, it is due to unproven propaganda that has existed since the establishment of our nation.
News media today often inspires an irrational concern about immigration and causes Americans to become isolated from new or foreign cultures. But a look back on history should be comforting, not concerning. Immigration gave us our country today, thanks to immigrants who served our country in large-scale conflicts such as the Civil War and World Wars I and II. We have maintained the American way of life because of the arrival of people from other countries, not in spite of it.
Immigration has played a pivotal role in shaping the social, economic, and cultural landscapes of the United States. And yet, we have never lived up to the ideals embodied in The New Colossus, an 18th-century poem written by Emma Lazarus to raise money for the base of the Statue of Liberty, a historical beacon that represents welcome, refuge, and hope for future immigrants.
You may recognize her famous words…
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.
America continues to treat immigrants like intruders in this country, despite keeping the door cracked open and then exploiting or imprisoning those who dare to enter.
American business owners have happily benefited from the labor of immigrant populations throughout history – from the Chinese immigrants who built the railroads in the western heat, to the African slaves who picked cotton and built the White House. And in modern times, Latino immigrants have kept the agricultural industry afloat by providing cheap labor, while Ghanaian nurses care for our elderly.
And while American businesses and our government are happy to capitalize off hardworking immigrants and take their tax money, we still do not pay them fairly, acknowledge their contributions, or, with few exceptions, allow them to participate as citizens.
But let’s be clear. We are a nation of immigrants. All of us.
Unless you were born into one of the First Nations tribes, your people aren’t originally from this land. Your claim, and mine, is tenuous. Even so, we limit the opportunities our ancestors were given to those whose skin color or socio-economic status is palatable to power brokers. A finger is pointed at “non-wanted” immigrant populations to distract and divide us, instead of creating solutions to societal problems or providing a clear path forward for those who knock on our country’s door. After all, it’s easier to suggest that our issues are due to differences in how people look and sound, rather than any other cause.
We are quick to recite the language of opportunity and meritocracy in the United States — so long as we all agree not to look too closely at our own history or how we treat residents who are not citizens. For example, someone might be unsettled to learn that their great-grandparents built their fortunes by bringing Mexican laborers into the country under the Bracero Program, withholding fair pay, and then having them deported when the work was done. Look at any large-scale agricultural company today, and you’ll see history repeating itself.
The truth? Immigrant populations have historically worked harder than settled ones, committed crimes at far lower rates than American citizens, bled and died for this country, strengthened our economy through taxes and underpaid labor, and been betrayed time and again. All because those who profit from their presence would rather not answer for the injustices, past or present.
Some of us know this history, and we feel that shame. Isn’t it time to open the door a little wider for those who have earned, and deserve, a chance? To ask on whose doorstep our troubles truly belong? It isn’t the huddled masses who are the problem.
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The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus (1883)
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”