America 250 and immigration

This year, the United States of America celebrates a very important milestone as a nation. It marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There is no shortage of commemorations from every corner of the country and rightfully so. Since its inception up until today, this country has been a living experiment of democracy, individual freedom, civil rights, capitalism, and moral ascendancy in its place in the community of nations.

Two-hundred fifty years is no easy feat. However, anniversaries are not only mirrors upon which we look back. They are also windows into the future and what a country we shall become. At America’s semiquincentennial, one of the clearest windows into the nation’s future is immigration.

America has never been a finished monument. It has been a continuing experiment, renewed by people who arrived with little more than determination, faith, skill, and hope. From the earliest settlers and enslaved Africans, to Irish laborers, Jewish and Vietnamese refugees, Mexican farmworkers, Filipino healthcare workers, Indian engineers, Afghan and Iraqi interpreters, and countless others, newcomers have redefined and expanded the meaning of “We the People.”

Immigration can be a double-edged sword. It can bring out the best and worst in us. The same country that opened its doors in Ellis Island also passed expulsion and exclusion laws, imposed country specific quotas, enhanced and rapid mass deportations, and questioned whether we really need more immigrants in the first place Even within immigrant communities, there is a division of opinion on how and what immigration policies should be.

Let it be clear that immigration contributes more good than bad in this pluralistic society. The United States is home to tens of millions of foreign-born residents, living in every corner of this vast country. They are vital in our agriculture industry and take care of the sick and dying in our hospitals, nursing homes, and rehab centers. They are entrepreneurs who launch small mom-and-pop stores or those who dream big and build their own companies from scratch, conduct research in pioneering fields, defend our country in civil and military uniforms and contribute to the economy by paying taxes. They also enrich the country in quieter ways: by revitalizing neighborhoods, reviving empty churches and schools, practicing and adopting American values into their homes, and valuing the gift of the opportunity to live the American dream as a matter of privilege and not a right.

However, challenges still exist and cannot be ignored. Immigrant communities face extreme pressures and hurdles like never before and can never be ignored. Structural, institutional and cultural reforms need to be instituted. Legal pathways must be credible, orderly, and humane. Immigrant workers need protection from exploitation. Access to better education, comprehensive healthcare and fair housing laws must be guaranteed. Immigrants are not pawns that easily be traded with during an election cycle.

The Declaration of Independence did not make America perfect in 1776. It gave Americans standards and values by which to act and measure themselves against. For 250 years, immigrants have helped shape this nation unmistakably, toward those ideals. Immigrants are one of the many thousand threads woven into this American tapestry.

So as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, let us continue to reflect and ponder who we are, what we are and how we ought to become if we are still a true United States of America in the next 250 years or more.