Who Closed the Golden Door?

   The first seven Presidents were not born in the United States of America.

   "Send me your tired, your poor ... I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door." -- From a poem by Emma Lazarus, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

   Spanish has never been a foreign language in America. Spanish explorers and conquerors were here long before speakers of English.

    Recent news reports have detailed the efforts of many folks, especially in towns near the southern border of the U.S., to stop those they consider unworthy from coming to America. But who are these deciders, and what standards do they use in determining who is, or who is not, eligible to cross the borders and come to what has traditionally been called the Land of Opportunity? What methods do they use to snuff out the lamp beside the golden door?
   It's curious that almost all the reports of nearly violent opposition to newcomers come from those states along the border with Mexico. Oddly, those states in the West and along the border with Mexico used to be part of Mexico. Moreover, many of those states, and cities within those states, still are known by the Spanish names, including California, Montana, Colorado and Arizona, along with San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Antonio. Florida is also a Spanish term. And New Orleans was populated by the Spanish and the French before being acquired by America in 1803.
   
   So considering that ferocity of opposition to immigrants -- granted, the justification for this is the claim that so many are illegal -- it's curious that all the protest marches are along the southern border. When was the last time you heard of protests against a rush of Canadians sneaking across the northern border? Doesn't this issue raise the possibility of racial or ethnic bias?

   Speaking of which, there remains the allegation that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, and therefore is not eligible to be President. Aside from the truth or falsity of this claim, it is provably true that John McCain, the Republican nominee in 2008, was born in Panama. George Romney, a GOP candidate in 1968, was born in Mexico. And Barry Goldwater, the founder of modern Republican Conservatism and a Republican presidential nominee, was born in Arizona before that region achieved statehood. In addition, there was a movement a few years ago for Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the governor of California, to run for President. He was born in Austria.
   The Constitution stipulates that presidential candidates be "natural born" citizens. It does not say "native born." By that standard, a person with an American citizen as a parent is a "natural born" citizen, no matter the location of his or her birth. McCain's father was serving in the military at the time of the future senator's birth. Young Romney's parents were serving as missionaries at the time of young George's birth. And Arizona, while not yet a state, was a U.S. territory.
   Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, came to the U.S. and became a citizen through the process known as naturalization. He was not a "natural born" citizen, nor was he "native born." This is not to take away from his other qualifications to run for any office other than the presidency. Yet there was widespread support for him to run for President.
   So why so much support for the Republicans and so much opposition to the Democrat? Obama's mother was born and raised in Kansas. Young Barack was born in Hawaii, and documentation has proven this. But even if he had been born outside the U.S., he would still be a natural born citizen through his mother, who was born and raised in Kansas. Moreover, he would have had to show his birth certificate when applying for a driver's license or registering to vote.

   As for those who came to America and achieved success, here's a short list of some of the most famous: Andrew Carnegie (Scotland), John Kenneth Galbraith (Canada), Anthony Quinn (Mexico), Desi Arnaz (Cuba), Maureen O'Hara (Ireland).
   In addition, consider this: Henry Ford's grandfather originally came from Ireland, moved to Canada and illegally crossed the border to the U.S. And the grandfather of President John F. Kennedy also immigrated to America. So also did the parents, grandparents and even earlier generations of present-day American citizens come to America to join the millions of others seeking prosperity in this Land of Opportunity.

   For them, the Golden Door was open. Who but bigots dare to close it now?

p.s. The opening statement of this posting is true. The first seven Presidents of the United States were born before July 4, 1776, when the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence.