I attended the citizenship oath ceremony at the Federal Courthouse Building in downtown Mpls today - and there were some aspects of it that were really nice. They listed all the countries the new citizens were from, and it was quite a range for such a frosty state! There were 1 to 4 people from each of the following countries:
Bangladesh
Belarus
Cambodia
China
Columbia
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Germany
Ghana
Guatemala
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Iran
Korea (I guess that means South?)
Laos
Liberia
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Nigeria
Philippines
Russia
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Thailand
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Vietnam
So that was pretty cool. I like the idea that people from all different places around the world are choosing to make their home here in the Twin Cities.
But it makes me angry too, on behalf of all the people who are denied this opportunity! There are VERY few people in this country whose ancestry is 100% Native American, and those are not the people we hear screaming about immigration. I don't think there should be such a thing as an illegal immigrant. I think we should let anyone in who wants to come. I really do. I think everyone deserves a chance at the American Dream. We don't have to extend welfare or even health care - those are separate issues - but I think we need to LET FOLKS IN. Maybe if we had a better attitude about the rest of the world, the rest of the world would have a better attitude about us, and we wouldn't have to worry about terrorism...
We are an incredibly blessed nation. We can afford to be more generous!
1 comment:
Congrats to Sahro!
Thank you, Em, for being her mom. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you to her for her courage and choice. I can't think of a more powerful testimony to changing our immigration policies than through your example as a family. As citizens.
Blessings,
Melissa
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