If you live in the United States of America, today’s post concerns you. Regardless the color of your skin, economic status, or social standing, you are either an immigrant yourself or the descendant of one. Whether you are an American citizen, on your way to getting there, or outright illegal, you are here because centuries ago, the U.S.A. opened it’s doors (and arms) to immigrants worldwide, without criteria. As inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: “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-tossed to me, // I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
This country was built off the backs of immigrants, legal and illegal. Consider the European settlers who crash-landed the Mayflower, they were as undocumented and unwelcome as it got. We are all immigrants, we are all aliens, and we are all American. So why are some of us being treated differently?