A New Wine student leader has been reflecting on immigration reform. He began the series by asking “What do you think we should do as Christians regarding immigration reform?” He opens the blog,
Emma Lazarus, famous Jewish-American poet, most widely known for her poem “The New Colossus” that is imprinted on the pedestal which the Statue of Liberty stands. Here are the most famous lines:
“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!”
This is definitely not the sentiment that modern-day rhetoric on immigration carries. Self-preservation, ethnic egocentrism, and economic concerns all tied to the platform of American patriotism make even the topic of legal immigration a hot current event.