Where you are born does not define who you are

Once again we are faced with the onslaught of Presidents Trumps attack on minorities. Apparently, to the President, a people’s quality is measured by the quality of the country they live in. Fortunately, for the rest of humanity, that is not the case.

People do not choose the place they are born in. But they do choose what they do with that life afterwards. That is, after all, what makes the United States of America, the great country it is today. It is the idea that no matter where one is born, you can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and become successful. That concept became so ingrained in the American imagination that one of our greatest monuments includes the poem called “The New Colossus”. These words in this poem resonate today as they did back then.

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!

It was clear back then, as it is today, that the majority of the immigrants did not come from the most prosperous countries. Many came from war torn countries where they suffered from poverty, famine and sickness. They didn’t enjoy the luxury of a high class education. Many did not even speak English. It was assumed by many back then that they would only be a drag to U.S. Society. Yet, the American miracle took hold.

These immigrants became some of our best scientists, doctors, engineers, and lawyers, among others. They built some of our greatest infrastructure projects and defended our freedoms in war. Onwards, very little has changed other that we started allowing people from different countries with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This law ended years of discriminatory practices of restricting non-European immigrants to the United States.

Since then, the pattern has been the same. Many good and hardworking people have left countries that were ravaged by war, poverty and sickness. They have come to the U.S. and embraced our love of freedom and hard work. Their love for this country surpasses even some of the most patriotic native-born Americans.

As much as certain groups, and President Trump, want to deny it, our country has had a good deal with immigrants. They are given a chance for a fresh start and our country is better for it. The next step is not to restrict immigration, but to pass a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that allows those that are undocumented to come out of the shadows and bring more immigrants that will make America greater.