Immigrant Bias

"Dad, do not worry. You did the right thing. I will be fine for telling the truth." -- Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to his father via live TV impeachment hearing.

   For all the ranting about immigrants and the supposed danger they bring to America, it's useful to compare the comments and the groups they refer to.
   A quick -- and very easy -- glance at some representative examples brings the conclusion that the ranting is bigoted and racist.
  For example, to call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country ignores the reality that Muslims have been part of American society and culture for several hundred years.
   Some were brought from Africa as slaves. Others came willingly as they sought refuge from harsh regimes elsewhere in the world. Still others are native Americans who converted to Islam, or are the children of immigrants who brought their faith with them.
   Moreover, all are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
   To call for a ban on all Muslims is therefore a clear violation of a right people are born with and is guaranteed by the Constitution.
   Secondly, building a wall to keep out those of a certain ethnicity while encouraging immigration from other regions of the world is racist.
   Finally, continuing to demand such restrictions even as your own family benefits from the American goal of religious and ethnic freedom is hypocrisy. And while hypocrisy may not be illegal, racism and bigotry are, and at the Constitutional level.
   "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." -- First Amendment.
   "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude ... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -- Thirteenth Amendment.
   "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -- Fifteenth Amendment.
   These thoughts came to mind as witnesses at House impeachment hearings spoke of their own success in America, whether as immigrants themselves or as children of newcomers.
   Example: Gordon Sondland, now ambassador to the European Union, is the son of refugees from the Holocaust and a successful businessman.
   Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was brought to America at the age of three by his father, who sought to free his family from the Soviet domination of Ukraine.
   In closing remarks to the House committee gathering evidence to support impeachment of the president, Col. Vindman publicly thanked his father for bringing him to America.
   "Dad, do not worry. You did the right thing. I will be fine for telling the truth."