We Live In A Political World: #70 / To Whom Should We Send Invitations?

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You probably know the sonnet by Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus." If you don't know that poem in its entirety, you may, at least, recall the following and famous lines, which are inscribed on a bronze plaque, which was placed at the base of the Statue of Liberty in 1903:

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!

It has been our experience, for more than one hundred years (and actually quite a bit more, I think), that the United States, as "a nation of immigrants," has benefitted immensely from immigration. This is, really, what The Statue of Liberty, that enduring emblem of our nation, symbolizes.

Of course, this is not the view of our current president. Donald J. Trump appears to despise immigrants, as he made clear as he began his first campign for the presidency:

"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. […] They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” This quote from Donald Trump has become emblematic of the President’s attitude towards immigrants. Since the 2016 campaign trail, Trump has spread harmful narratives about Latinx immigrants, and his words have tangible impacts on local communities.... President Trump characterizes Latinx immigrants as a dangerous out-group to gain political power.

The president's words - "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists..." - have not, at least not yet, been inscribed anywhere, but the president's denunciation of immigration is restated frequently, and it's hard to escape the memory of the message about immigrants with which he began his 2016 campaign, and which are featured in the quotation that I have included above.

In the Emma Lazarus sonnet (meant to reflect the realities that the nation has actually experienced), America has invited immigrants to come. The nation has opened its "golden door" to them, welcoming them here, with the result being that our nation has become greater - and richer - because of those formerly homeless, and "tempest-tost," and impoverished immigrants. Those "wretched" immigrants, welcomed here, have ended up contributing greatly to American wealth and success.

On February 28th, the president outlined a new approach to immigration. He has proposed a "Gold Card" visa, an invitation to those immigrants who are able and willing to pay $5,000,000 for the privilege of gaining entry to the United States.

Whom should we invite? To whom should we send an invitation to come to America? Should we continue to follow the advice of Emma Lazarus? Or, is Donald Trump, perhaps, the wiser head? Should only the already wealthy be welcomed here?

This question is now placed before us. Should we repudiate those who come here with nothing, hoping not only to enrich themselves, but to enrich this nation, too?

We have been asked to repudiate our historic welcome. Our current president says, "We Welcome The Rich! And only them!"

Are you with him? Or not?

I am not.

I am with Emma!