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IMMIGRATION - America’s divide on immigration has become wider and gravely shortsighted today, an ironic political tactic observed in a country of immigrants.
Although newcomers to the United States have integrated into the nation’s culture, contributed to economic progress and innovation, and succeeded in both public and private sectors, concerns about immigration remain.
To add apropos dialogue to this troubling and imperfect debate, I offer an immigrant’s point of view.
All people are created equally, as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, and that validated the desire of many to arrive here, to participate responsibly in this respected nation’s structure, to abide by American values, and work hard to make dreams come true.
Growing up in Greece I had an optimistic and affectionate image of America. This was a country that cared. I was personally familiar with the Marshall plan to rebuild war-torn regions and improve prosperity, and I experienced personally the supply of food and hope through the CARE package program for people on the brink of starvation (more people in Europe died of malnutrition than had fallen in battle).
America was a free and prosperous country, even to the point of sharing its quality education with foreign students, then opening abundant employment opportunities for those who studied hard.
At 17, I was excited to receive a foreign student visa which enabled me to obtain an Electrical Engineering degree from California State University and start my own consulting firm. Grateful, I wanted to give back to Los Angeles and spent 40 years of my life in public service, on the boards of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and serving as president of the Department of Water and Power Board.
Subconsciously, I followed Mary Antin`s, the original immigrant associated with the phrase "American dream", writing in her memoir The Promissed Land, " I thought it miracle enough that I, Mashke, the granddaughter of Raphael the Russian, born to a humble destiny, should be at home in an American metropolis ,be free to fashion my own life, and should dream my dream in English phrases".
Today’s binary issue between “illegal aliens” and “lawful immigrants” is a front-page event, and what defines national citizenship has become a fragile and uncertain assumption for some and a hesitant sentiment for others.
The Fourteenth Amendment is crystal clear: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. It also states that no State shall make or enforce any law which abridges the privileges or immunity of citizens.
Still, absent consideration for law, birthright citizenship is now attacked, mass deportations are promised, and the nation’s asylum protection system is being dismantled. Due process is not followed.
From Albert Einstein to Joseph Pulitzer, from Alexander Hamilton to Bob Hope, the list is endless of people who were born elsewhere but became renowned Americans.
A year ago, the John Hopkins Carey business school reported that about half of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
And yet, xenophobia continues to be part of the complex national history, often manifested in discriminatory laws and policies against immigrants and minority groups. Not too long ago, Proposition187, passed by California voters in 1994 and later invalidated by the courts, aimed to restrict undocumented immigrants from receiving public services, including education, healthcare, and social services. It also required state and local agencies to report suspected illegal immigrants to authorities for deportation.
America’s shifting attitude toward migration and to internal minorities often results from those who consider themselves nativists.
But, what’s in a name? Native-born Americans had immigrant ancestors. Yet today’s ideology of nativism seeks to divide the long-established immigrant from the more recent immigrant. A silly concept, one which begs the question: Who best qualifies as a legitimate citizen, people with three-generational immigrant roots, or those with one generation origins?
Surprising, an ironic example of an immigrant hardliner is the president himself, the son of an immigrant mother from Scotland and a father who was the son of German immigrants. The first lady is Slovenian-born, and his first wife was born in Czechoslovakia.
On Liberty Island in New York sits "The New Colossus", very much unlike the conquering one of Greek fame on the island of Rhodes, with an inscription by the American poet Emma Lazarus that reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” To ascertain the entrance to America is visible, the Statue of Liberty’s torch is brightly lit.
That dazzling torch can never be extinguished. Lady Liberty must endure negating storms and stand proudly as freedom’s icon.
(NICK PATSAOURAS is a civic leader and author of the book The Making of Modern Los Angeles.)
