U.S. immigration policy waits beside the golden door
It was the summer of 2019 and my parents were visiting the United States for the first time. We did what most international tourists to America do, which was visit landmarks around Washington, D.C., and New York City and call that our tour of America. We had a trip planned for two days in NYC and the final item on our itinerary was to take an afternoon ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. It was a bright shiny summer day with the sun trying to blind us and the cold ocean wind offering just enough respite. We visited the museum at the statue’s pedestal; I was strolling around when I noticed a rusty bronze plaque with a few lines of verse.
As I read the first line, “Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame …,” I was drawn to reading the rest. Due to my fascination with history, I immediately deduced that the poet was comparing the Statue of Liberty to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. “That’s interesting,” I thought, comparing the most visible symbol of New York City to an ancient wonder. I read on. I’m sure you have experienced moments in your life when reading, listening, or seeing something has a profound influence on your worldview and how you think about everyday things. Reading the rest of the poem was one such moment for me.
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!
“Beside the golden door,” wrote Emma Lazarus in her 1883 poem “The New Colossus.” Not a barrier, fence, or a wall. A golden door.
It’s been more than a century since this bronze plaque was placed at the Statue of Liberty. Surely one might think that the values such writing conveys would have crystallized by now in the form of concrete policy. And yet we live in an age where immigration policy lies paralyzed by inaction, with no apparent guiding light.
In writing this, I considered sharing a story about personal courage, but I decided instead to talk about the collective courage displayed by immigrants. No one really chooses to voluntarily leave home and everything that is familiar to them. It is ambition or the cruelty of circumstance that drives them. And what is the fuel for such a drive, if not courage? Just like mercy being twice blessed, the courage of immigrants isn’t a one-way street. It takes more than largesse of heart; it takes courage from the members of a society that accepts and integrates immigrants.
My high school history textbook in India had a chapter on the American Revolution, including the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” that were so boldly proclaimed as both self-evident and unalienable in the Declaration of Independence. I ask then, what is immigration if not an exercise of the right to the pursuit of happiness, driven by courage?
Sandesh Kalantre (2023 cohort), from Maharashtra, India, is a Knight-Hennessy scholar pursuing a PhD in physics from Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. He is excited by the ongoing revolution in quantum science and technology and the future of computing devices based on quantum physics. Sandesh hopes to exploit this technology in the study of materials and improve understanding of matter at ultra-low temperatures.
Knight-Hennessy scholars represent a vast array of cultures, perspectives, and experiences. While we as an organization are committed to elevating their voices, the views expressed are those of the scholars, and not necessarily those of KHS.
