The Golden Door

Send me your tired, your poor ... I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door. -- Emma Lazarus

   As the U.S. economy begins to recover and the military winds down its foreign involvement, look for an influx of refugees in search of survival.
   Especially, we can expect among the new arrivals those who worked with Americans in war-torn areas, and who would be subject to persecution, punishment and death if they stay behind. There is historical precedent for a sense of obligation to those who risked their lives in their homelands in the cause of freedom. When U.S. troops left Cambodia and Vietnam, the new rulers cracked down hard on any who were thought to have cooperated with Americans. This will also be true in Afghanistan.
   Moreover, as was the case with many newcomers in the past, they will take whatever jobs are available, including the scut work that young Americans shun.
   The signs are clear. The unemployment rate in America has dropped below 8 percent for the first time since January 2009, even as millions in Europe cope with rates as high as 25 percent in Spain, and 53 percent for young workers in that country. Throughout the European Union, the jobless rate is above 10 percent.
   The Help Wanted ads will soon appear. Let's hope there won't be a return of the post-script "NINA" -- No Immigrants Need Apply.