“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
— Emma Lazarus, 1883
Those words are bound to draw a tear from the compassionate eye. These are the presumptive words of Lady Liberty and are enshrined at our Statue of Liberty. Should she have added, “Give me your educated, your gifted, your inventive, to help our country for the good of all”? Or would the Lady have known that the gifted would have faced little scrutiny, so she made a plea for the wretched?
I’m weaving my way toward illegal immigration, if you bear with me.
Some of the wretched have ended up adding much to their new country, becoming wealthy and contributing to the wealth of our nation in the process. Many poor immigrants, however, mainly the Italians and the Irish, were discriminated against, never to experience the American Dream. Some lived and died in hardship. Some turned to crime. Then again, a great many lived happy, normal lives.
So, who do we let into the “golden door?” There are Americans who don’t think this is such a great country, and it certainly has its warts; yet it is, by far, the most sought after nation in the world. Hence the problem with illegal immigration and what should be done about it.
Point one: The good ones come here to provide for their families back home. So, eliminate the jobs, and most won’t come. Come down hard on the employers who use and abuse these people with huge fines that obliterate any profits from using illegals. And give jail time for those responsible, including those at the very top.
Two: Make it difficult to duplicate green cards and visas. All must have some valid ID. That should even reduce the number of drug dealers that infest our nation.
Three, and I think this is definitely something to be considered: We only have two neighbors, the one to the north does not want nor need our help. The one to the south desperately needs and wants our help. Instead of sending our businesses overseas, why not send them to Mexico along with our technical support and help turn Mexico into a thriving country instead of the failed nation it is today? We would both eventually benefit from it, and Mexicans would be able to make a decent living in their own country.
Four: You want to build a wall? Fine, I’m all for it, but if we do business with Mexico, it won’t be needed for long.
If Lady Liberty wants to find the wretched, all she needs do is lift her lamp and look southwest.
Gord Harteau is a writer in Duluth and contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.