Times have changed regarding immigrants
There is a lot of talk today about the Statue of Liberty, its inscription about tired, poor and huddled masses and recent talk and policy changes from the Trump administration.
A little context is needed here. Our country has changed a bit since that statue was erected but not in the way you're thinking.
Our country was built on freedom, the freedom of the people here to pursue their dreams. Our government existed to protect those freedoms. And people came to live here for the same reason.
In the 1800s, when the Statue of Liberty was erected with its famous poem about the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, there was no TANF, SNAP, CHIP, EITC, or HA. There was, however, a myriad voluntary usually church-supported charitable organizations to help people in need.
But the role of our government has changed. Instead of existing to protect our freedoms, it now exists to take care of people. This comes at an enormous expense to the public, and it certainly attracts far more people to our country than who would have come here otherwise. And, frankly, we no longer know or care who is coming here to live free or who is coming here to be taken care of.
Our country is over $22 trillion in debt, and that's just at the federal level. This is not a situation that can end well.
The president thinks we don't have enough money to take care of everybody who wants to come here and who also needs to be taken care of. We are adding 2 million to 3 million new immigrants a year, legal, refugees or otherwise.
Larry Craig
Wilmette