What does a sonnet written by Emma Lazarus to help raise money to build the base for the Statue of Liberty have to do with U.S. immigration policy?
Once the plaque of the sonnet was placed onto the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, 'The New Colossus' redefined the statue's purpose, turning Liberty into a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world. Since then, US immigration policy has used the sentiment of 'The New Colossus' as its backbone.
However, after the turn of the century the older immigrants from northern Europe, almost all of them Protestant, didn't much like the trend of Catholics from eastern and southern Europe coming here, and Congress eventually passed Immigration Act of 1924, which strongly favored immigrant source countries that already had many immigrants in the U.S. by 1890, of which very few were Catholic. When you come right down to it, it was nothing more than Jim Crow Laws applied to immigration to keep the white protestants comfortable and in power. The Great Depression changed things a bit, since for several years in the 1930's there were more people emigrating from the US than immigrating to it. Immigration rose after that, but WWII changed things again, creating a lot of refugees that had to be dealt with, and the strict quotas of of the Immigration Act of 1924 made it difficult, but still those seeking refugee status were given preference within the quotas.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act, Hart being Emanuel Hart, D-NY, and Hart being Philip Hart, D-MI) removed the "National Origins Formula" that comprised the earlier Act. (The previous 1924 Act prevented many refugees from eastern Europe from immigrating during WWII.) Since then immigration has surged, and mostly from non-European countries, primarily Asia and Mexico.
The numbers have been tweaked since the Act, but basically it's supposed to be 140,000 immigrants per year, with "family reunification" immigration being unlimited. And despite increased border security after 9/11, nearly 8 million immigrants came to the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in our history, and almost half of them having entered illegally from Mexico.
Since 1998, Mexico, China, India and the Philippines are the top four on the sending country hit parade.
But the backbone of the sentiment of the Statue of Liberty is still there. Since WWII, more refugees have immigrated to the US than other nation, with more than two million refugees having arrived in the U.S. just since 1980.
Interestingly, the 1965 Act was heavily supported by Ted Kennedy, who was first elected to the Senate in 1964 (the Kennedy's, being Catholic, felt immigration reform that didn't clearly discriminate against Catholics was in order). He was the Floor Leader of the Bill, and in his speech regarding the Bill, said...
"First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same.... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia.... In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think.... It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs."
Whoops.
By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations which dramatically changed the ethnic demographics of the country. Immigration doubled between 1965 and 1970, and doubled again between 1970 and 1990, with the most dramatic effect being a massive immigration shift from Europe to Asia and Mexico. The percentage of white Americans has dropped dramatically over the last few decades, and arguably as a direct result of the Act of 1965, that's what got Obama elected.
Clearly, immigration needs another reform, but none of it will make any difference until the borders are secured.
Read something interesting yesterday, though, about what all has happened to Nogales and the areas up through Tucson and into Phoenix since the Arizona Law was signed (even though it doesn't even go into effect for a while). Motels and restaurants are empty. That big 97-room Comfort Inn two or three blocks from the border in Nogales has averaged 5-8 room occupancy per night since the bill was signed. Most nights it's in the 70-90 range.
