Liberty Bell

“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!”
— Emma Lazarus, on the Statue of Liberty

America has been a country of freedom and hope for many years. And because of that, it has drawn and continues to draw people from other nations to it. Most are longing for a better life. They believe America will provide it.

They see America as a great nation. They hear people talk of a glorious land - possibly a paradise on earth. They hear job opportunities, not shortage of jobs. They hear about food and free health care - not about the American citizens with no health insurance, and others who struggle to provide for their families.

I know many didn’t realize the problems with America. I know because the people my Dad work with (Turks) viewed America as a great nation. And when they visited, and realize how much Katrina had affected people’s lives, they were shocked. They hadn’t heard of the homeless people, the starving people, the out-of-work people…

America! America!

Now America is facing problems regarding immigration. And we see people who are in the U.S. illegally (mostly Mexicans), take jobs and get health care where U.S. citizens can’t. And we hear people talking Spanish and wonder what they’re saying - realizing that because we can’t understand them, we might be the ones out of a job.

I know another family, who moved to Washington State from California. The dad’s an out-of-work white electrician. Not because he’s lazy - he tried very hard to find work. But because when he tried to find a job, he was rejected because he couldn’t speak Spanish.

God shed his grace on thee…

There was an article on Think and Ask, called Free Los Angeles, Go Fix Mexico. It’s copyrighted - “reproduction of any kind is not permitted without written consent” - which I don’t have. But it’s a good article and I wanted to use a few paragraphs:

What is wrong with Mexico? Gotta dictator? Can’t put food on the table? No jobs to be found? Well, join the club, for life is no better in the United States for poor and middle class blacks and whites.

The only difference is now we whites and blacks have to pay socially and financially for those Mexicans who enter this country and work for cash while they avoid paying income, property, and school taxes. But Mexicans get healthcare and public school education — for free. If we tried avoiding taxes the IRS would be on our door before you could say si si. If we show up at hospital expecting free assistance we’d die while waiting in the emergency room without health insurance.

Here is one possible all encompassing answer: Life is easy for the Mexicans. It is easy to enter the United States illegally and stay under the radar. It is easy to come to the United States and pop-out a baby to gain citizenship and apply for welfare. It is easy to work here for $8-per hour cash, pile-up 20 illegals in a one-bedroom apartment to save rent and split the cost of a beer keg on the weekends. It is easy to build political clout with the sheer influx of immigrants along with the baby boom that follows with each new family.

It seems ironic that illegal aliens gathered such steam in Los Angeles to march, considering they offer no intellectual exchange to advance innovation in this nation…other than halting laws that infringe upon their own special cause. Be proud of Mexico: Go home to build a life your children can boast was the effort of their parents’ hard work and reform. Meanwhile, rest assured, we are telling our children that there is no free ride in the United States…unless one is here illegally from Mexico.

And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

President Bush Talks Immigration at Naturalization Ceremony

President Bush:

Newcomers have a special way of appreciating the opportunities of America. And when they seize those opportunities, our whole nation benefits.

In the 1790s, an immigrant from Ireland designed the White House, right where Laura and I live, and he helped build the Capitol.

In the 1990s, an immigrant from Russia helped create the Internet search engine Google.

In between, new citizens have made contributions in virtually every professional field and millions of newcomers have strengthened their communities through quiet lives of hard work and family and faith.

America’s welcoming society is more than cultural tradition; it is a fundamental promise of our democracy.

Our Constitution does not limit citizenship by background or birth. Instead, our nation is bound together by shared love of liberty and a conviction that all people are created with dignity and value.

Through the generations, Americans have upheld that vision by welcoming new citizens from across the globe, and that has made us stand apart.

One of my predecessors, President Ronald Reagan, used to say this: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the world, can come to live in America and be an American.”

Then later on…

America is a nation of immigrants, and we’re also a nation of laws. All of you are here because you followed the rules and you waited your turn in the citizenship line.

Yet some violate our immigration laws and enter our country illegally. And that undermines the system for all of us.

America should not have to choose between being a welcoming society and being a lawful society. We can be both at the same time.

And so, to keep the promise of America, we must enforce the laws of America. We must also reform those laws.

No one is served by an immigration system that allows large numbers of people to sneak across the border illegally. Nobody benefits when the illegal immigrants live in the shadows of society. Everyone suffers when people seeking to provide for their families are left at the mercy of criminals or stuffed in the back of 18-wheelers or abandoned in the desert to die.

America needs comprehensive immigration reform. I’ve laid out a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform that includes three critical elements: securing the border, strengthening immigration enforcement inside our country, and creating a temporary worker program.

The rest of the speech contains his three guidelines and explains them. It’s worth reading.