Refugees and Immigration: What does good look like?

[Southerner]

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

-- Emma Lazarus

[Grace]

Yesterday I unloaded a truck and noticed the driver had either a Ukrainian or Russian accent, so I asked, and he was Russian. He said he left Russia when the war started three years ago because he didn't like Putin. I've met a lot more Ukrainian drivers than Russian, and they usually say they fled Ukraine to avoid military conscription. Three years later he is driving truck in the USA, and although I assume he's making low wages, he probably is supporting himself well. It's been 31 years since I was in Kiev, but I still remember a handful of Russian words, so I tried them out on him. His eyes really lit up and we had a good laugh.

Our church sponsored two Ukrainian families. The one family, the husband was given a job by a local Mennonite businessman. At first there were some language issues, but the man was a very hard worker and soon caught on. It didn't take both husband and wife very long to get acclimated to the country and the culture. The husband worked very hard and turned out to be a very valuable worker and about a year ago they bought their own home. The home isn't as upscale as some of the other homes we have here in Lancaster County, but they are so happy and grateful, to not have bombs around them and the young man not being conscripted into the military.

[JohnH]

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

-- Emma Lazarus

Written in 1883 by someone who seemed to spend most of her time as an activist to do things to benefit people from her own ethnic group.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

[JohnH]

For those who want to talk about policy, here’s what is going on in Canada:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politic ... itor-visa/

[Southerner]

For those who want to talk about policy, here’s what is going on in Canada:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politic ... itor-visa/

The article is paywalled and I would like to read it.

[Valerie]

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

-- Emma Lazarus

Written in 1883 by someone who seemed to spend most of her time as an activist to do things to benefit people from her own ethnic group.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I see that poem used against Christians as if we don’t care about immigrants- during this “caring” need to keep a process in place to know who’s coming in your country. Again, when that poem was written we did not have:
1. Drug cartels and people & families destroyed by drugs smuggled in.
2. Sex trafficking
3. Terrorists

So the poem conveys a lack of understanding modern problems we cannot ignore. We have to also care about those who are already here. Protection.

It was JUST on the news that a human trafficker was shot (not killed) by CBP.

[JohnH]

For those who want to talk about policy, here’s what is going on in Canada:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politic ... itor-visa/

The article is paywalled and I would like to read it.

Try this: https://archive.ph/b8eaM

The overall gist is Canada wants fewer asylum seekers and so far in 2025 was able to reduce them to 33% of prior levels.

[JimFoxvog]

Thanks for the working link.

I tend to trust the migrant-rights advocates. From the article posted above:

Migrant-rights advocates warned that some people with legitimate asylum claims could face grave risks because of the recent measures.

Syed Hussan, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, said in an e-mail that “by restricting tourist visas, Canada has sneakily slammed the door on refugee families fleeing persecution – a deeply immoral act for a country as rich as ours at a time of increased global conflict.”

[Valerie]

Thanks for the working link.

I tend to trust the migrant-rights advocates. From the article posted above:

Migrant-rights advocates warned that some people with legitimate asylum claims could face grave risks because of the recent measures.

Syed Hussan, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, said in an e-mail that “by restricting tourist visas, Canada has sneakily slammed the door on refugee families fleeing persecution – a deeply immoral act for a country as rich as ours at a time of increased global conflict.”

Refugees that don’t send fraudulently acquired funds to terrorist organizations are welcome, I truly don’t want tax dollars by hard working people to go to anti-American organizations. I think this type of exposure is not going to help the case to enter in freely with no expectations or screening.

[JohnH]

Refugees that don’t send fraudulently acquired funds to terrorist organizations are welcome, I truly don’t want tax dollars by hard working people to go to anti-American organizations. I think this type of exposure is not going to help the case to enter in freely with no expectations or screening.

Good point. Canada had a major problem with "refugees" from Sri Lanka who were the Tamil minority there who were supposedly fleeing persecution, yet were also funding the LTTE, a notorious terrorist organisation (who are notable in being the group that invented suicide vests, and provided training to Yasser Arafat's PLO in insurgency/terrorist tactics).

Many of the Tamils in Canada didn't really have a choice: the LTTE set up shop in Canada and would shake down "refugees" for payments to fund the LTTE. The LTTE was able to source a global budget of estimated between $200 to $300 million. That's a lot of money to go towards terrorism.

Yet another reason that refugees need to be carefully vetted - the people that refugees are fleeing from need to NOT be admitted.