AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST APPEARS IN THE LETTERS SECTION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ON JUNE 19,2012
("Obama to Permit Young Migrants to Remain in US")
The
announcement took the first steps to correct a grievous injustice. We
have for far too long failed in our duty to be a land embracing the
"tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
It is only an ugly, narrow minded perspective that would find that
those children and young adults, whose sin was being born to the "wrong"
parents, are not welcome in our midst. Republicans, as always, found
error in the President's unilateral action. Nothing to protect the most
vulnerable ever gains the support of those on the right.
There is skepticism that this is but an election year ploy, and the
President's undistinguished record on immigration gives some credence to
that concern. Hopefully, his retort to a reporter's inquiry that "this
is the right thing to do for the American people" will serve as a
clarion call to reevaluate an overall policy of exclusion and
deportation that cannot succeed. More importantly, it should not succeed
for it is antithetical to our foundational obligation to be a moral,
just and inclusive society.
No comments:
Post a Comment