1/20
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
#velshi
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
#velshi
2/20
The words inscribed at the base of the greatest symbol of America to the world - the Statue Of Liberty - are about immigration. A beacon of freedom to a world whose people America desperately needed. #velshi
The words inscribed at the base of the greatest symbol of America to the world - the Statue Of Liberty - are about immigration. A beacon of freedom to a world whose people America desperately needed. #velshi
3/20
Millions of people crossed oceans - first forcible, then voluntarily, to make this country into the great world power it would become. It’s possible your grandparents, or not-too-distant ancestors, made that brave journey to America back then. #velshi
Millions of people crossed oceans - first forcible, then voluntarily, to make this country into the great world power it would become. It’s possible your grandparents, or not-too-distant ancestors, made that brave journey to America back then. #velshi
4/20
You might even find your family name in the archives at Ellis Island, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty...*if* you’re white. The early ships of voluntary migrants to the United States didn’t look like me. #velshi
You might even find your family name in the archives at Ellis Island, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty...*if* you’re white. The early ships of voluntary migrants to the United States didn’t look like me. #velshi
5/20
They were basically different shades of White, sharing an important dream to build new lives in America, and America needed every last one of them. #velshi
They were basically different shades of White, sharing an important dream to build new lives in America, and America needed every last one of them. #velshi
6/20
The history of America welcoming immigrants is a little more complex than the fairly straightforward inscription on the Statue of Liberty. #velshi
The history of America welcoming immigrants is a little more complex than the fairly straightforward inscription on the Statue of Liberty. #velshi
7/20
From the start, there have been laws in place, at best, that heavily favored white immigrants and, at worst, actively barred immigrants of color. #velshi
From the start, there have been laws in place, at best, that heavily favored white immigrants and, at worst, actively barred immigrants of color. #velshi
8/20
In a New York Times Op-ed, by @ReeceJonesUH, an immigration researcher, he writes, “From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim ban, immigration restrictions have been a mechanism for protecting a fleeting vision of a white country.” #velshi nytimes.com/2021/10/28/opi…
In a New York Times Op-ed, by @ReeceJonesUH, an immigration researcher, he writes, “From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim ban, immigration restrictions have been a mechanism for protecting a fleeting vision of a white country.” #velshi nytimes.com/2021/10/28/opi…
@ReeceJonesUH 9/20
Consider the Naturalization Act of 1790, which restricted citizenship to, “any alien, being a free white person.” In the early 1800’s, with new migration routes from across the Pacific, came new racism toward Chinese migrants. #velshi
Consider the Naturalization Act of 1790, which restricted citizenship to, “any alien, being a free white person.” In the early 1800’s, with new migration routes from across the Pacific, came new racism toward Chinese migrants. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 10/20
So, the U.S. passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, barring *all* Chinese immigrants. Something called the “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Japan in 1907 limited the entry of Japanese immigrants. #velshi
So, the U.S. passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, barring *all* Chinese immigrants. Something called the “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Japan in 1907 limited the entry of Japanese immigrants. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 11/20
Things only started to get marginally better during the civil rights era, when national origin quotas were abolished. But even supporters of that change - like Senator Ed Kennedy said, don't worry! "The ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.” #velshi
Things only started to get marginally better during the civil rights era, when national origin quotas were abolished. But even supporters of that change - like Senator Ed Kennedy said, don't worry! "The ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.” #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 12/20
Fast-forward to the former President’s xenophobic Muslim ban and our continuing failure to see migrants at our southern border as humans striving for a better life. #velshi
Fast-forward to the former President’s xenophobic Muslim ban and our continuing failure to see migrants at our southern border as humans striving for a better life. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 13/20
Throughout history, America's leaders KNEW the nation desperately needed immigrants, but enacted policies meant to maintain what they often admitted were intended to preserve America’s beloved texture, color and culture. #velshi
Throughout history, America's leaders KNEW the nation desperately needed immigrants, but enacted policies meant to maintain what they often admitted were intended to preserve America’s beloved texture, color and culture. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 14/20
The American fabric, was, to many in power, a blanket woven together with 50 shades of white. Ultimately, those laws didn't work. #velshi
The American fabric, was, to many in power, a blanket woven together with 50 shades of white. Ultimately, those laws didn't work. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 15/20
Despite being actively hostile to different groups of people across time, America is now home to more immigrants than any other nation: Black, white, Hispanic, LatinX, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern - all the colors of the proverbial rainbow. #velshi
Despite being actively hostile to different groups of people across time, America is now home to more immigrants than any other nation: Black, white, Hispanic, LatinX, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern - all the colors of the proverbial rainbow. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 16/20
America often has the largest population of a given nationality outside that nationality's country of origin. And America still remains the destination of choice for people who plan to migrate. As an immigrant, I understand that. #velshi
America often has the largest population of a given nationality outside that nationality's country of origin. And America still remains the destination of choice for people who plan to migrate. As an immigrant, I understand that. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 17/20
As an American, I welcome that. Because, ultimately, unlike European countries, whose languages and cultures are rooted in language and race, the United States was built to absorb, adapt, to bob and weave with cultural change. #velshi
As an American, I welcome that. Because, ultimately, unlike European countries, whose languages and cultures are rooted in language and race, the United States was built to absorb, adapt, to bob and weave with cultural change. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 18/20
We still haven’t gotten it completely right with immigration. No President in recent history has succeeded in developing a comprehensive immigration strategy - one that doesn't see migration as a bad thing, but as an economic imperative for America. #velshi
We still haven’t gotten it completely right with immigration. No President in recent history has succeeded in developing a comprehensive immigration strategy - one that doesn't see migration as a bad thing, but as an economic imperative for America. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 19/20
There are still laws and barriers in place today that prevent immigrants of color from calling America home, and politicians who stoke the fires of racism. They won't serve us in the long term. #velshi
There are still laws and barriers in place today that prevent immigrants of color from calling America home, and politicians who stoke the fires of racism. They won't serve us in the long term. #velshi
@ReeceJonesUH 20/20
It's time to refocus on how to attract and bring in more people, which is strategically and intellectually very different than our current obsession with keeping people out, but our future depends on us getting immigration policy right. #velshi
It's time to refocus on how to attract and bring in more people, which is strategically and intellectually very different than our current obsession with keeping people out, but our future depends on us getting immigration policy right. #velshi
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