Extremes on Immigration

    The issue of immigration, legal and otherwise, is not going away soon. It seems to me that extremists on this matter could use a measure of common sense to reel in their prejudices.

    We are a nation of immigrants; even native Americans came from someplace else. But that does not mean we should have borders open to all. The tragic deaths resulting from the refusal of sanctuary cities to prosecute or deport criminal illegal aliens underscores the point.

    On the other hand, we cannot justify shutting the door to entire groups based solely on their ethnicity or their religion. What would this country be if Ellis Island had refused entry to Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants when all they sought was to make their mark in this Land of Opportunity? Fears that hordes of unvetted, single Muslim men of fighting age may include jihadists are well-founded, but the denial of entry to women, children, and old men is not.

    Would-be immigrants, be they migrants escaping persecution, desperate poor seeking better lives for their families, or foreign graduates of our universities should be welcome, provided they are willing to accept American values and integrate peacefully and productively. And law-abiding and contributing members of our society should not be indiscriminately subject to wholesale exile because they entered our country illegally years or even decades ago.

    Welcoming immigrants is not charity: it is enlightened self-interest. If we have learned anything from the masses who came to our shores at the turn of the 20^th century, it is that we can benefit from the variety of other cultures. In fact, our history celebrates the accomplishments of the many men and women who came here with little but their talents and their genius. Let's be secure, but let's also not have a policy of unwarranted xenophobia bar the door to their successors.