Immigration Reform
So I was in the car yesterday, listening to The Soundtrack of Our Lives. To be more specific, I was listening to Neil Diamond and recalling Andy Senter flying through the air. This made me think of one of my favorite poems. Emma Lazarus didn't write much, but this is a gem.
The New Colossus
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!"
The poem made me think of the protests going on in major cities. Is there still a golden door? Do we really believe in "world-wide welcome"? Are illegal immigrants any less exiles than the rest of us?
I don't necessarily think that it is right that they came to our country illegally, but I can't blame these immigrants for coming all the same.
The New Colossus
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!"
The poem made me think of the protests going on in major cities. Is there still a golden door? Do we really believe in "world-wide welcome"? Are illegal immigrants any less exiles than the rest of us?
I don't necessarily think that it is right that they came to our country illegally, but I can't blame these immigrants for coming all the same.
posted by Heather at 7:58 AM
2 Comments:
Well said!
Thanks for posting this. I love the poem! It brightened my day. :o)
I believe. I believe in world-wide welcome, and I worry about people who want to chain and padlock the golden door. Funny thing is, that'll just make more people sneak around it.
Illegal immigration is hardly a good thing, but the analysis can't end at "they broke the law." The fact is, deportation is often an inequitable punishment for breaking an immigration law.
Remember the Polish student at Huntington last year who had problems with her student visa? I don't recall exactly what the problem was there, but let's think about a similar scenario: a student's visa expires and they are unable to renew it right away. The student is in the country illegally. He or she is technically breaking the law. The visa problem is not even because of the student's negligence in seeking renewal; it's just because of bureaucratic paperwork vs. deadline difficulties. Should the student be deported?
What about an immigrant who came to the United States illegally after fleeing certain death in his or her home country? For example, what if someone converted to a different religion in a country where that was a capital offense and then somehow got into this country illegally instead of seeking asylum? Should that person be deported?
As Christians, you'd think we'd remember the things Jesus taught us about God's law and grace, and that maybe we'd think about how that might apply to the law of the state. Maybe we should be looking to the purposes of the law. Maybe we should look at principles of justice. And maybe we in our affluence can afford to bestow a little compassion on the poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
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