Fear of Foreigners
Terrorism on American Soil Has Changed Immigration Policy
On a trip to New York City, families do the tourist thing and take a ferry boat to visit the Statute of Liberty. Around the perimeter of the park are bronze statuettes of the designers and builders of Miss Liberty , among them a studious Emma Lazurus who wrote the famous poem, “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,” as she tried to raise money to build the podium upon which the statue now stands. She succeeded, but her sentiments have not.
Terrorism Aftermath
It is a sad fact that the events of 9-11 and the Iraq war have dampened American appreciation for diverse cultures along with every other change it’s wrought, which includes issuing and renewing green cards. A 2003 online visa review states, “We all know that the INS is processing applications at a much slower pace these days. Indeed, a simple application for a replacement card can take close to 12 months!”
Yet, immigration policies are and always have been a subjective decision. Sanctuary was denied to German Jews during World War II, and Haitian and Cuban refugees were shunted into camps on Krome Avenue in Miami during the 80’s. Mexicans who creep over the California border are deported if caught. Conscientious objectors of the Viet Nam War didn’t receive US amnesty until fairly recently.
Terrorism History
Yet, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were welcomed to Hawaii and the Shah of Iran to California. Of course, the Marcos and the Shah ransacked their national treasuries, so they probably paid their own bus fare. It costs America money to take immigrants in, to clothe them, to educate them, to feed them and to care for their sick. Even former governor Lawton Chiles didn’t want to spend that money; he sued the U.S. government for restitution.
Foreigners who were ragged, uneducated, hungry and sick were discarded. Immigration policies seemed to hinge on who was fast enough, slick enough or rich enough to get to the United States. 9-11 changed all that.
The Biggest Terror
Osama Bin Laden’s relatives quietly left their rich digs in the US shortly after the events of September 2001.
Authorities are still trying to snag Osama bin Laden. In December 2001, it’s known that he slipped away from eastern Afghanistan into the White Mountains that extend along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Perhaps he is still there.
Wherever he surfaces is anyone’s guess, but thanks to our new immigration policies , one thing is sure.
Osama Bin Laden will never see the Statue of Liberty.
