“We came to America, either ourselves or in the persons of our ancestors, to better the ideals of men, to make them see finer things than they had seen before, to get rid of the things that divide and to make sure of the things that unite.”
-Woodrow Wilson
IMMIGRATION: BECOMING AMERICAN exhibit opens tonight at The Grand Center for Arts & Culture. This is an extremely powerful exhibit I wish everyone would experience. There has been so much fear mongering and untruthful statements about immigration (both legal immigration and illegal immigration) in recent days, even resulting in the extremely disturbing outcome of holding federal workers hostage for a non-existent crisis. Viewing this exhibit is a just one way to see for yourself what immigration is truly like for many of our fellow Minnesotans. You will discover the process of legal immigration is exhaustive and not in any way easy, but rather the opposite and full of uncertainty. My hope is you will also gain profound appreciation and respect for our new neighbors. We all benefit from diversity and have much to learn from other cultures.
Green Card Voices
This specific exhibit from Green Card Voices (they have several throughout MN- I recommend viewing as many as possible) features high school students who immigrated to Minnesota from across the world. Most have spent years fleeing violence and famine, living in refugee camps for much of their lives. Being resettled in another country is not an easy process. It takes years and very often results in families being torn apart. I’ve read many of these kids’ stories about how they had to leave older siblings behind because by the time they were chosen for resettlement, their siblings were too old to qualify. Some parents were doing everything in their power to provide for their families, which meant they had to travel wherever they could find work. Because they did not live in the refugee camps themselves, they were not approved to be resettled, resulting in years of separation from their children.
This kids are our kids. They want the same things our children do. Many worked back-breaking jobs back home and work part time here while going to school. They have dreams of going to college and becoming nurses, computer engineers, soccer players.
Immigration + Border Security
Nobody wants to become a refugee. No parent wants to chose between leaving everything they’ve ever known and an uncertain and unfamiliar future. But they are forced to, to literally save their children’s lives. Some had already lost children and now must take their surviving kids to a place they no nothing about. I would do anything to protect my kids and make them safe, and I’m sure almost all parents would.
We do not have an open border. We did, however, have one when most of our family’s ancestors immigrated here (speaking to the southern Minnesota-region here). Being against a wall does not mean being for an open border, and I believe that is the biggest misconception people have, not just about this topic, but so many others. It’s this or it’s that. There is no in between. Which is of course untrue. Everything has a range, and everyone falls somewhere on that spectrum. It is very possible to be against a (useless, expensive, ineffective) wall and for border security (technology, manpower, etc).
We are (almost) all Immigrants
The vast majority of us are descendants of immigrants. I encourage everyone to research their own ancestry and learn about where your family came from, when, and why. Your great- great- great- grandfather was likely doing the same thing these parents are: fleeing persecution, violence, unsustainable living conditions. If you enter into this with an open mind, I can all but promise you will find you have more in common with today’s immigrants than you have differences. This is true regardless of where we came from. We are all human.
I’ll leave here with a few quotes:
If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table not a taller fence.
“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-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Emma Lazarus (also inscribed on the Statue of Liberty)
“Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.”
Robert F. Kennedy
“You will not mistreat an alien, and you will not oppress him, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt”
Exodus 22:21
