The poem by Emma Lazarous titled, “The New Colossus,” can be found engraved on the Statue of Liberty. It has been used by many as an identification point for those who have arrived to the United States through New York.
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"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!"
Do these words still hold the same valuable meaning for today’s immigrants to the United States?
There are many reasons why people seek to live in America. Many people have fled their native homelands due to political, ethnic, or religious persecution. Additionally, many seek a greater opportunity offered to them by the United States in contrast to their country of origin. During the time of the great American Frontier, land was cheap and easy to find which attracted many people to the United States. What continue to be the driving forces of immigrants today? The U.S. continues to draw people because there are still higher wages available and many continue to immigrant due to political and religious inequalities.
There are three primary characteristics of American life that appeals to many people wanting to come to America. These are political freedom, religious tolerance, and economic opportunity. Also because the U.S. is considered a “nation of nations” many people coming to the United States have found it easier to assimilate into American culture compared to other countries.
Referring back to the question posed after Emma Lazarus’s poem, it seems as if her words give the same meaning for today’s immigrant. The Statue of Liberty remains to be a symbol of freedom, hope, and opportunity. The case for today’s uprising debate of immigration, however, is no longer about providing a home for the tired and poor, but the issue at stake is centralized around providing equal opportunity and the struggle of illegal versus legal immigrant.
The immigrants of today are primarily of Hispanic origin. They come from all over Central America and South America for an equal opportunity to live as a United States American. It is evident that these people are not pleased with the policy initiatives set forth by the current Bush administration. Immigration remains a major issue of U.S. and Latin American Relations. According to Michael Shifter at the Inter-American Dialogue, the U.S. must develop a new foreign policy response to Latin America as a way to decrease the strain that has been forming. There has been a distancing between the U.S. and Latin America. Many Latin American countries are developing stronger connections with other countries besides the U.S. for economic and other political purposes. On one hand, however, immigration remains a top priority of the U.S.-Latin American relationship. The building of the wall along the U.S.-Mexican border is a major concern among Latin Americans. It poses as a humiliation to Hispanic countries as if to say, “We don’t trust you. We don’t want you.” Michael Shifter believes that a major cause of these ideas is because the U.S. is only concerned about its domestic policies and creates immigration policy only for its own interest.
The wall that may be built along the U.S.-Mexican border will not serve as a symbol of opportunity and freedom like the Statue of Liberty serves to those coming to America from across the Atlantic Ocean. In this sense Emma Lazarus’s poem will not serve the same symbolic meaning for Hispanic immigrants.
