OPINION:
Here is an important fact for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and anyone else who does not know American history: America was not founded by immigrants (“Bloomberg: U.S. should invite illegals to live, work in Detroit,” Web, Sunday).
Our nation was established by settlers and there is a crucial difference. The founding settlers were predominately English people who came here to expand the boundaries of England, their home country. They were seeking some freedoms that they did not have at home, but their intention was never to form a new nation - it was to colonize on behalf of England. Even more than a century later, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the cause was for specific freedoms from English laws that they believed to be unfair to them as colonists. The settlers at Plymouth Bay came here as English citizens, making claims on behalf of England and intending to remain English.
Immigrants are people who leave their country to go to another country and make a permanent home. There have been many great waves of immigrants arriving in America over the centuries but after each mass migration, there has been a period of deliberate control over the number of immigrants allowed to enter in order to give our society, government and job market time to absorb the newcomers. Breezily waving away all suggestion of control over the number of immigrants with the comment that “America is a nation of immigrants” is not only historically false but foolish.
Mr. Bloomberg wants to fill Detroit with immigrants and somehow legally compel them to stay there five or 10 years. Do you recognize the term “ghetto,” Mr. Bloomberg?
DEBRA STEVENSON
Fairfax
Please read our comment policy before commenting.