*You and I are "melting pot" people; citizens, that is, of that country set
apart by Heav- en to receive those in search of the good life--those from
from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. As such, we, of all people,
ought to recognize the value of a liberal [generous, not strict]
immigration policy.President Thomas Jefferson, a descendent of immigrants,
presiding over a nation of immigrants, thought so. In his first annual
message, dated, December 8, 1801, he asked of those who thought to impose
an extremely arduous course to citizenship for the im- migrant (a 14 years
residency requirement), a few probing questions: "Shall we refuse the
unhappy fugitives from distress that hospitality which the savages of the
wilderness extended to our fathers arriving in this land? Shall op- pressed
humanity find no asylum on this globe? The Constitution, indeed, has wisely
provided that, for admission to certain offices of important trust, a resi-
dence shall be required sufficient to develop character and design. But
might not the general character and capabilities of a citizen be safely
communicated to eve- ry one manifesting a bona fide purpose of embarking
his life and fortunes perma- nently with us?" (1)The advocates of today's
liberal immigration policies, or of far more radical proposals for open
borders, might feel inclined to thus quote Jefferson, and feel
justified.Yet they had better do so with caution. President Jefferson also
suggested that America balance her open arm policy "with restrictions,
perhaps, to guard against the fraudulent usurpation of our flag; an abuse
which brings so much embarrassment and loss on the genuine citizen, and so
much danger to the nation of being involved in war"."[N]o endeavor", he
said, "should be spared to detect and suppress" this sort of im- migrant.
(2) So much for blind liberality. Not every immigrant is a friend of
America. Jefferson was no fool. He had other concerns too.In his Notes on
the State of Virginia (1787), Jefferson reflects: "It is for the happiness
of those united in society to harmonize as much as possi- ble in matters
which they must of necessity transact together. Civil government being the
sole object of forming societies, its administration must be conducted by
common consent. "Every species of government has its specific principles.
Ours perhaps are more peculiar than those of any other in the universe. It
is a composition of the freest principles of the English Constitution, with
others derived from natural right and natural reason. To these nothing can
be more opposed than the maxims of abso- lute monarchies. Yet from such we
are to expect the greatest number of emi- grants." (3)Jefferson warns,
nearly prophetically: "They will bring with them the principles of the
governments they leave, imbibed in their early youth; or, if able to throw
them off, it will be in exchange for an un- bounded licentiousness,
passing, as is usual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle
were they to stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty. These
principles, with their language, they will transmit to their children. In
pro- portion to their numbers, they will share with us the legislation.
They will infuse into it their spirit, warp and bias its directions, and
render it a heterogeneous, in- coherent, distracted mass." (4)*
On Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 8:28:51 AM UTC-5, Travis wrote:
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