Dear Readers, No monument represents America's greatness, or her deep connection to her exceptional past better than the Statue of Liberty, defined in Emma Lazarus' enduring poem, The New Colossus. A descendant of German-Jewish immigrants, both Lazarus and New Yorkers in 1903 recognized the essential role that the millions of immigrants from three dozen nations had played in our growth and heritage. Today, the poem stands more meaningful than ever, though America has changed and immigration is rightfully viewed through a different context. Nonetheless, I hope all of us will take into account the morale of the poem, as well as the struggles of restriction, assimilation, and acceptance immigrants of all times faced as President Trump and our Justice System deliberates on a new set of Restrictions on Immigrants from Latin America and the Middle East. With Love, Kuangye THE NEW COLOSSUS By Emma Lazarus 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-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
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