Today’s editorial in the New York Times struck a chord, not just because this past year has seen me commiserating with the plight of immigrants in this country, but also because it was one echoed by Michael Bloomberg in our commencement merely two weeks ago.
“Someday, the country will recognize the true cost of its war on illegal immigration,” the Times writes. “The true cost is to the national identity: the sense of who we are and what we value.” Funny how a nation that was built on the efforts of immigrants should find itself desperately building walls against people like those who once upon a time founded this nation on the principles of equality. Funny how this very same nation which has taken great strides over the past year to taking down the barriers to electing its first black president continues to struggle against dismantling its own inbred culture of apartheid.
But don’t take it from me. Let Bloomberg, who echoes what countless of Americans have been saying repeatedly, say it himself:
The key to innovation is immigration. Our nation’s greatest historic strength is that we’ve always welcomed the best and brightest from every corner of the globe. eBay, Google, Levi’s, Budweiser, they were all started by immigrants. It’s the story of New York, and it’s the story of Penn – which has the highest percentage of international students in the Ivy League.
And yet every year, Congress shuts the door to hundreds of thousands of doctors, scientists, engineers, and artists from around the world who want to work here. It’s the greatest case of national self-sabotage and attempted suicide I can imagine.
Filed under: Uncategorized , bloomberg, immigration, penn
