Should America Close the Golden Door? America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In theyears that have passed since Emma Lazarus poem was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty thegolden door has seen times when it was open wide and times when it was closed shut to almostall immigrants. Many people tend to look at the present immigration problems as a purely moderndilemma. The truth is America has always struggled with the issue of immigration, both legal andillegal. Changing times however make it imperative that our government re-examine and adjusttodays immigration laws to todays standards. Those standards however are not easily defined. All too often the issue of immigration is used as a political tool or is lost in heated moral debates.In any discussion about immigration you will have those who claim it is good for our nation andthose who claim it is ruining the nation. More often than not the bottom line in any debate of thissort is money; will more or less immigration mean more or less money for those already inAmerica. The moral debates come down to a question of who we are as a nation and how wewant the rest of the world to perceive Americans. If this great country was forged and built byimmigrants passing through the golden door , then how can this same country turn away newimmigrants. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty invites all to enter, yet not all are allowed toenter. Immigration has become a selective process with many gray areas. Now Americans arefaced with a new dilemma; the nation must decide not whether it is willing to accept newimmigrants, but whether it can afford new immigrants.All new immigrant, both legal and illegal must be considered in this equation. Congresscan attempt to ease the burden of legal immigration by passing restrictive laws and only allowingin those who they believe will become self-sufficient. Congress must also find a way to slow theflow of illegal...
