Immigrants & How to Treat Them

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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

- Emma Lazarus, 1883

Emma Lazarus

Lazarus’ work, “The New Colossus” was written three years before the installation of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde). The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States.

Not may people know that the official name of one of the most significant statues in the world includes a tribute to the function of liberty as “enlightening the world.”

Emma, while not herself an immigrant, was a strong supporter of indigent Jewish refugees and helped establish the Hebrew Technical Institute to provide technical training for them to support themselves.

Of course, most American schoolchildren know that the last five lines of Lazarus’ poem are inscribed on a bronze plaque that sits on the foundation of the Statue of Liberty.

These words unequivocally point to the people that Liberty is calling.

The tired, poor, huddled masses who yearn to breathe free. The wretched. The homeless. The tempest-tossed.

With all of the debate swirling around immigration today, we seem to have forgotten the most basic of principles that, until recently, guided our country’s stance on the subject.

An openness. An acceptance. A willingness to sacrifice security and convenience for hospitality.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that practically every ethnic group that has shown up on America’s shores has faced hostility. Irish. Polish. Chinese. German. Italian. Any group that didn’t fit in with the current majority (those of white Anglo-Saxon heritage) were viewed with suspicion. During times of war, in particular, violence and prejudice reared its head (notably against the Germans in WWI and the Japanese in WWII).

The history of how blacks in the US were treated is especially shameful. They came to this country initially as slaves. With no choice in the matter. With no rights. Regarded as less than human. (Ava DuVernay has directed an excellent documentary, 13th, that captures much of this history).  Our treatment of Native Americans is equally shameful. 

So, we as a nation, seem to be conflicted on our view of immigrants. On the one hand there is the Statue of Liberty, which is located about a half-mile away from Ellis Island, where 12 million immigrants first set foot in America between 1892 and 1954. The Statue sits almost directly in front of Ellis Island. The two structures share the same harbor. The same hope.

On the other hand, there is Ellis Island. A touchstone symbol for how we  choose to implement our hospitality.

During its prime Ellis Island was actively functioning as the US's largest immigration center; it processed 5,000 individuals a day. Early on, an intake system was established. It included a basic health screening, mainly to detect communicable diseases, along with questions to determine a person's nationality, mental ability and politics. Much of this process was put into place once immigrants from non-western European nations began to immigrate to the US.

There were two types of passage available to immigrants. First class and steerage (second class). Only steerage passengers were processed through Ellis Island. First class passengers had already paid for a sort of express service, entitling them to directly enter the US.

In large part, ever since, there has been confliction between how first (special) and second (the rest of us) class immigrants are treated.

Fast-forward to the present time. The 45th president campaigned on a promise to build a wall across our southern border and to severely tighten up our immigration policy. Meanwhile, the sister of Jared Kuschner is pitching special EB-5 citizenship to foreign investors in Kuschner properties at the $500,000 level.

On the positive side, a federal appeals court recently rejected the 45th's second version of a revised travel ban as being intolerant and discriminatory against Muslims. The first version was found unconstitutional for the same reasons.

So, the whole issue of immigration continues to be fraught with contradiction.

Which is not to say that we can't, as a nation, choose to do the morally correct thing.

We can choose to let what's written on the base of the Statue of Liberty guide us. We can choose to let liberty remain a beacon of hope. We can choose to welcome the stranger, the homeless, the tempest tossed to our shores.

All based on the virtue of generosity. Making an active decision to not give in to fear of those who don't look or act or think like us.

Members of faith-based communities should be among the leaders in the movement to ensure immigrants are welcomed.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10, in the Bible, for instance:

"Remember this - a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give... God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty to share with others.. For God is the one who provides the seed for the farmer and the bread to eat. In the same way, God will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you."

Here's 14 other verses for evangelicals to take a look at.

Those of the Jewish faith also are commanded to welcome the stranger. (Leviticus 19:33-34) "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt."

This doesn't sound at all like "America First." Or "Make America Great Again."
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For a great read on the loss of virtue in American politics, read Emma Green's review of The Vanishing American Adult, in The Atlantic.

Photo Credit: Emma Lazarus - American Jewish Historical Society
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island - XpatNation