The notion that America can do without immigrants has become embarrassingly commonplace.
Any American with the barest grasp of history should know that allowing newcomers into our country is not an act of charity. Immigration is vital to the success of our economy, our democracy and our national integrity.
Our greatest strength lies in welcoming those who want to come and take part in our national story, to contribute, to provide for themselves and their families, and those who want to live in peace in a community.
Thursday’s “Day Without Latinos” protest exemplified how American patriotism and values have little to do with legal citizenship. I saw tens of thousands of people there, many of whom were undocumented workers, proclaiming their love for this country, asserting their right to dignity and recognition and fighting racism and xenophobia with peaceful civic engagement.
It was on that morning when I realized how acutely we hurt our nation when we exclude, act as an oppressor rather than a neighbor and demand the fruits of honest labor, while rejecting the humanity of the laborer.
Those of us who are Wisconsinites by birth cannot afford to lose those who are Wisconsinites by choice.
It is in the spirit of compassion and pragmatic self-interest that I stand in complete support of Wisconsin’s immigrant families and in complete opposition to the discriminatory ideology of Assembly Bill 450 and Senate Bill 533.
If you feel similarly, I urge you to contact your legislators and speak through your vote. For Wisconsin’s businesses and communities, A Day Without Latinos was intolerable. For our state and our country, a future without immigrants is unimaginable.
Wilder Deitz ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in social welfare.