By: Barnali Bose, Editor-ICN
NEW YORK: Liberty, one of the keywords in the Indian constitution was incorporated into it from the French Constitution.And what better way could there be to get a feel of it but at the Liberty State Park, the Ellis Island and the Liberty island located between New York City and Hudson County,New Jersey ?
Through the looking glass:
The second statement of the American Declaration of Independence states :
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This passage has been a moral standard on which the founding fathers of the United States of America ensured every law and policy adhered to, which implied that no matter who comes to the shores of America, fleeing war, poverty or persecution, would be treated with dignity irrespective of whether she is a legal alien or a citizen.
An introspection:
History has testified that no country can develop unless there is migration of masses leading to fusion of cultures and exchange of ideas.What better example than India that has seen the immigration of Aryans,Turks, Mughals, Chinese, Christians missionaries and over and above all, the Europeans to contribute to her greatness and glory!
The America that Americans are proud of ( and rightfully so) is also to a great extent, the result of the incessant labour of countless faceless immigrants who have tirelessly contributed to the prosperity of the nation.
As we sailed away from the Island of Immigrants and Liberty island, I inferred that History repeats itself.Even today, the land attracts immigrants,legal and otherwise.
Waiting for light at the end of the dark tunnel: The much coveted Green Card
United States of America has, for decades been a land to which the ambitious youth worldwide have sought to migrate in search of better job opportunities and living conditions.
Under the existing Immigration Law, only seven percent of applicants of any independent country maybe granted Green card annually. The Green Card is the first step to US citizenship.
The latest figure released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimated that as on May 2018, among 3,95,025 applicants in the waiting list, 3,06,601 are Indians with China having 67,031. Besides these,no other country has more than 10,000 in queue. Other countries in the Green Card waiting list are El Salvador ( 7252), Guatemala (6,027),Honduras(5,402), Philippines (1,491) Mexico (700) and Vietnam (521).
The waiting period for Indian skilled immigrants is undoubtedly the longest and is usually for decades. Recently,The Press Trust of India has quoted President Trump’s words,”Our immigration policy,laughed at all over the world,is very unfair to all those who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years! Immigration must be based on merit- we need people who will help to make America great again.”
Immigrants seeking asylum: to grant or not to
Illegal immigration into the US, has like in India and a few other countries become a major cause for concern and the authorities are trying to handle it with an iron hand. There is however,a dichotomy that prevails in this regard.
Three urgent crises underlines the present President’s hardline immigration agenda. The first one is his cancellation of a programme supposed to shield countless young undocumented immigrants who had come to the US holding their parents’ hands at an age when they were totally oblivious of what life had in store for them.
The second, his ‘zero- tolerance’ policy that has been instrumental in the family separations has earned the scathing criticism of humanitarians worldwide.The Government thereafter decided to show leniency in this regard. However, it would be a herculean task to reunite children with parents criminally prosecuted for illegally crossing the border.
The latest, (though we cannot say for certain that it’ll be the last),is the recent ban upheld by the Supreme Court to bar immigration of nationals of a few countries on security grounds.
Many immigrants are now on tenterhooks anxious of what might happen next that could prove detrimental to their well being.
When Silence speaks volumes:
The camera rolls centuries back. I see an immigrant, fatigued yet hopeful, apprehensive yet enthusiastic, stepping for the first time on the soil of America at Ellis island. I can almost hear Lady Liberty, silently reassuring ,” Fear not, you have come to the land of the free to be free.”
I wonder does,“Give me your tired,Your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” still ring true ? I truly hope it does for this is what makes America great, doesn’t it?
