Give Me Neither Your Tired, Your Poor, Nor Your Huddled Masses Yearning To Breathe Free.

"The Terminal" promotional poster — This 2004 film, with Tom Hanks, is suddenly very acutely relevant, and I plan to watch it again soon.
(Image from Wikimedia Commons, under “fair use” provisions)

Emma Lazarus’s famous sonnet “The New Colossus” is engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty and reads as follows:

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!”

It’s not scripture, of course, and it’s not law. Nevertheless, Ms. Lazarus’s poem has formed an important part of American self-understanding for well over a century. I was struck, therefore, when one of the readers of this blog, a Trump supporter, posted a comment mocking and deriding Ms. Lazarus and her words.

In another comment, that reader justifies Mr. Trump’s decree against immigration by pointing out that some of the “refugees” who’re targeted by the ban are planning violence against us.

And, of course, that’s possible. We can never be absolutely sure that nobody harbors such intentions — though unlikely, it’s logical conceivable that you’re planning a mass murder for this evening — and his argument can’t be tested right now for the simple reason that the future hasn’t happened yet. Moreover, I agree with the need for public safety and for prudence.

But here’s an extremely interesting bit of background information on the danger that people from those countries have represented in the past:

“Fareed Zakaria (CNN) uses statistics to show those banned pose no threat to the USA”

Dr. Zakaria’s remarks are based upon this article, published by the libertarian/conservative think tank in Washington DC called the Cato Institute:

“Terrorism and Immigration: A Risk Analysis”

Other interesting and relevant pieces at Cato include the following:

“Five Reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban”

“Little National Security Benefit to Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration”

“Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal”

“Refugees, Immigrants, and National Security”

In the meantime, ABC reports that

“US Diplomats Consider Filing Dissent Over Immigration Ban”

And, in what may genuinely be mere coincidence:

“Texas mosque goes up in flames hours after White House announces Muslim ban”

I’m still formulating my own personal response to Mr. Trump’s edict. It will be more nuanced than the various protests at airports. I’m trying to weigh it and understand it.

Give me neither your tired, your poor, nor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.