An appreciation of immigration

A good friend and business associate came into my office last week, armed with videos and pictures of 1,374 immigrants from 95 countries taking the oath to become citizens of the United States.

The ceremony was held at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, and one of the oath takers was her sister, who is Filipina. She came to the U.S. on a work-sponsored visa and eventually got her green card. Only after the last presidential election did she decide to apply for citizenship.

“I was scared for the future,” she told me when I called her and asked what prompted her to apply. “Antiimmigrant sentiment has awakened. What will happen next year? The fear factor was very important in my decision.”

She said she was comfortable with her green card and never saw an immediate need to take the next step. She could do anything, except vote. Now she wants to vote and make a difference.

“This is my home,” she said. “My loyalty is to the United States. I feel safe now.”

Safe. Lucky her. Lucky me. Lucky us.

I thought about a couple of other people I know. They’re in their early 20s and have been in the United States since they were children. They’re the “Dreamers,” and they have no path to citizenship. Needless to say, they’re scared to death.

My friend’s sister feared that the current administration would take away some, if not all, of her greencard rights. Imagine the fear of those who have no rights.

I looked at the pictures and watched the video of the ceremony. I listened as a speaker announced each of the 95 countries represented by the immigrants. I listened to the oath of citizenship, where the applicants vowed to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

It was inspiring to see the diversity of the men and women who were celebrating their adopted country. When I watched the video of the song “God Bless America,” with accompanying pictures of our American heritage, I started to tear up. And I wasn’t even there.

The next video, though, was of President Trump welcoming the immigrants as new citizens of our country. As soon as his face was on the screen, a scattering of boos filled the auditorium. It certainly didn’t take long for a few of our new citizens to understand the concept of free speech.

“He came across as angry and scary,” my friend’s sister said, who was not one who booed and thought it was extremely disrespectful. “It was as though he was reprimanding us because we were new citizens. It was not inspiring at all.”

I watched the video, and didn’t see it that way. I’m no fan of the president, but as long as he’s reading off a teleprompter, he can sometimes be tolerable. This was one of those times.

So why did my friend’s sister, and those few that booed and shouted “fake news” feel the way they did? Because of the divisiveness this president has fostered over the issue of immigration, along with numerous other issues.

Very few of us want to see open borders. Most of us are in favor of border protection, short of building a wall. The immigration laws, and the path to citizenship, are complicated issues that probably won’t be resolved anytime soon.

The only thing I’m suggesting is to not blame the immigrants. They have goals and dreams just like all of us. Most of them desperately want to sit in that auditorium and take the oath that will allow them to become a citizen of the United States.

We are, as has been said many times, a nation of immigrants. Ninety-five countries were represented at this one oath-taking venue, from Mexico to Ghana to Pakistan. Ninetyfive heritages. Ninety-five nations that lost some good people in order to make our country stronger.

We need to embrace immigration as an idea, not vilify it. We need to understand that immigration is a positive, not a negative. We can’t be anti-immigrant. This incredibly inspiring and joyful ceremony should be required viewing for anyone who thinks immigration should be stifled.

Once we understand that immigration and diversity not only built this country, but continues to make it the greatest country on Earth, the fair and just laws will come.

We need to embrace immigration as an idea, not vilify it. We need to understand that immigration is a positive.