The symbol of the Statue of Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry yearning to be free....    I grew up with these words ringing in my ear.  I lived in New York City and the Statue of Liberty was ever-present, as were the hundreds (thousands?) of European immigrants living beside me.

Ronald Reagan said on June 19th, 1989 in his formal statement to the White House (according to former Secretary of labor, Treasury and State George Shultz in the San Jose Mercury News on July 12, 2013:

 "We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people - our strength - from every country and every corner of the world.  And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation.

While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life into dreams.  We create the future, and the world follows us into tomorrow.  Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we're a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy, and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier.

This quality if vital to our future as a nation.  If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost."