So, now that the Trump admin has implemented a policy of going after legal immigrants shouldn’t it be clear to all that the issue is not the so-called invasion of illegals? The real issue is the browning of America. Certain factions of America fear the lessening of white privilage as the country’s population becomes darker.
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting Director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Trump administration, has tried to redefine the poem,
The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus associated with the statue of Liberty and which states; “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!”
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
Mr. Cuccinelli said on CNN last night that this poem, which was written in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, and was actually cast onto a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal’s lower level, was written to mean that only immigrants who can “stand on their own two feet” are welcome in the United States. Of course once the backlash on social media came Mr. Cuccinelli attempted to change his narrative, but the damage had already been done. Trump (and his white nationalist minion’s) immigration policies are geared toward one thing and one thing only – preventing the browning of America.
For years many have been painting Latino immigrants on a strain on America. All one has to do is go back to Trump’s speech wherein he announced his bid to the Presidency. In that speech Trump said the following “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. 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.
In that same speech, Trump stated (speaking of the illegal drugs coming into this country) It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.
But if we go back to that mass immigration, the largest shift of human population in the history of the world, where people from Europe fled to come to America not all of them where educated upstanding citizens. Many were the (1)wretched refuse, in other words the poor, sorry, pitiful or worthless, or the so-called worst from those societies. Yes, it is true that many of those immigrants did help to build America. However, many of those immigrants were criminals and predators. Martin Scorsese’s film “Gangs of New York” depicts a part of immigrant history that is never talked about. In New York City there was a community in the lower east side of Manhattan known as the Five Points. If one did a little research one would know that this area of New York was the most crime infested area in America if not the world.
“Five Points is alleged to have had the highest murder rate of any slum at that time in the world. According to an old New York urban legend, the Old Brewery, formerly Coulthard’s Brewery from the 1790s, now an overcrowded tenement on Cross Street housing 1,000 poor, is said to have had a murder a night for 15 years, until its demolition in 1852.” From Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points,_Manhattan
In those days there was no Government agency to provide aide to the needy, there was no such a thing as Social Services or, as is more commonly known, Welfare. In fact it wasn’t until President Roosevelt’s New Deal that the government set up programs and agency’s to help its needy citizens. So, since there was no government assistance what do you think the poor of those days did? Well, all one has to do, besides a little research, is look at the movies directed by Francis Ford Coppola based on the books by Mario Puzo entitled “The Godfather.” The criminals organized. Yes, organized crime was a by product of immigration. And guess what, none of those immigrants were brown or Spanish speakers. They did not come from South or Latin America nor from the Middle East. They all came from Europe. In other words they were WHITE.
It is easy for people to blame others for there short comings. People that are not (educationally) prepared for jobs rather than look at there own flaws tend to blame immigrants. “Those damn immigrants are taking our jobs.” Oh really? When was the last time you wanted to pick fruits and vegetables, wash dishes, mow other peoples lawns, clean toilets, or care for others children for a living? Immigrants do these menial tasks and more. And, they pay taxes. When they make purchases they pay sales taxes. Many get forged social security cards in order to seek gainful employment. And yes that in it self is illegal, but on the other hand, because they have these forged social security cards they pay income taxes. And they will never be eligible to get social security benefits or medical care. So the bottom line is that these illegal immigrants contribute more to America’s economy than they drain from it. Just as all European immigrants can not be tarnished with the same brush as the criminals of the day, not all brown immigrants can be blamed for any criminal acts committed by the few criminal elements of today.
The same motivation that led millions to flee Europe to come to America is the same reasons many are fleeing South and Central (or as Trump calls it Latin) America. Tyrant governments, predatory gangs, crime, and poor economic opportunities. immigrants, legal or illegal, come to this country to flee from those oppressive regimes, criminal predators in an effort to find better lives for themselves and their family.
The argument made by many is that “yes but my ancestors came here (to America) via legal channels, they did not come here illegally. Well lets analyze this notion.
Those with money did not have to go through the Ellis Island process. All others did (see my article The Big (Immigration) Picture. We can also assume that many DID come here illegally, they were either (2) stowaways, meaning they boarded the ships illegally and hid on the ship until it docked. Or, they paid bribes to forgo the Ellis Island procedures.
The moral of this story is life is to short. We live, we enjoy, we suffer then we die. All of us die. No one is immortal. The world is small and getting smaller because of technology. We all share this planet why not do so in cooperation rather than in animosity. Competition is good but we do not have to belittle, defame, or kill each other to see who is the best. When cut, we all bleed and the blood is red no matter the pigment of our outer shell – the epidermis.
(1) adjective, wretch·ed·er, wretch·ed·est.
very unfortunate in condition or circumstances; miserable; pitiable.
characterized by or attended with misery and sorrow.
despicable, contemptible, or mean:
a wretched miser.
poor, sorry, or pitiful; worthless:
a wretched job of sewing.
(2) a person who hides aboard a ship or airplane in order to obtain free transportation or elude pursuers.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/stowaway