We’re getting awfully tired of people interpreting “The New Colossus,” the poem written by Emma Lazarus as part of a fundraiser to build a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, as foreign policy, while laws like the one passed into law by President Bill Clinton “to ensure that non-citizens do not abuse our public benefit programs and jeopardize the safety net needed by vulnerable Americans” are just seen as suggestions.
You might remember that a petulant Jim Acosta not only read from “The New Colossus” at a 2017 press briefing; he then tweeted the poem to his Twitter feed.
Trump advisor Stephen Miller and CNN's Jim Acosta just got in an argument about the poem on the Statue of Liberty pic.twitter.com/WlGtL7b75v
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) August 2, 2017
And just last summer, “CBS This Morning” co-anchor Gayle King visited a border patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, where children of illegal immigrants were being housed, and promptly reported that “the Statue of Liberty, I think, is weeping right now.”
On Tuesday, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli tweaked every progressive’s favorite part of the poem in an NPR interview.
Ken Cuccinelli rewrites Statue of Liberty poem to make case for limiting immigration https://t.co/79soJdv1ET pic.twitter.com/ggR9LWKgEh
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 13, 2019
“Would you also agree that Emma Lazarus’s words etched on the Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, give me your poor,’ are also a part of the American ethos?” NPR’s Rachel Martin asked Cuccinelli on “Morning Edition” in an interview published Tuesday.
“They certainly are: ‘Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,'” he replied. “That plaque was put on the Statue of Liberty at almost the same time as the first public charge was passed — very interesting timing.”
Recommended
That sounds like a good answer. Maybe it’s time to remember the original meaning of the Statue of Liberty and also remember that there was no revolving door at Ellis Island. America had borders and it protected those borders, as is any sovereign country’s right.
CNN isn’t taking it well, obviously. They want the huddled masses, and yet they don’t want them huddled in “concentration camps” yearning to breathe free.
WHERE in the poem does it say "give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to receive free money, health care, and services for life?" pic.twitter.com/bZqQqXef7G— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 13, 2019
Don’t give the Democrats any ideas. They’ll be out there with a chisel tomorrow.
— Jake Jacobsen (@DrJakeJ) August 13, 2019
That may sound like hyperbole, but don’t forget that every single participant in the first Democratic primary debate raised his or her hand when asked if they’d provide free health care for illegal immigrants.
No matter what it says welfare didn't exist back then and anyone coming here had to make it on their own. Both sides of my family had to do it back then and the same should apply in 2019.
— KarmaDog (@KarmaDogOh) August 13, 2019
Hand up, not hand out. #MAGA
— Carolyn Bailey (@Carobailey864) August 13, 2019
That part comes from DNC charter. Specifically from the section titled: "Strategy on how to get new voters once middle and working class completely abandons us"
— Andrzej Kucharczyk (@akucharczyk) August 13, 2019
I know Democrats try to re write history,but the poem was a contest,it never ever was policy. You think those "huddled masses" then got everything handed to them? No.
— Marsha (@mimsycoll) August 13, 2019
Send me your poor, your deadbeats, your filthy. Lol. Archie
— Bobby Schmidt (@BobbySchmidt000) August 13, 2019
We imagine that’s on a billboard Gavin Newsom erected right on the California border.
And before anyone thinks we’re heartless (too late), consider that this Clinton-era law which hasn’t been enforced has plenty of exceptions.
Federal law already requires those seeking permanent legal status to prove they will not be a public charge. These rules further specify what constitutes a public charge. The rules also have exceptions for groups such as pregnant women, kids, military, refugees, & asylum seekers. https://t.co/G1WSiVvych
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 13, 2019
We’re sure we’ll hear plenty more news stories about the Lady Liberty crying on the evening news.
Related:
Gavin Newsom rushes to label Donald Trump a racist over immigrant benefits but trips over Bill Clintonhttps://t.co/yJVB6Kx8ME
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 13, 2019
Join the conversation as a VIP Member