For 283 years, America was literally a sanctuary for debtors, criminals, poor people and theocratic groups.
Last edited Tue Jul 8, 2025, 10:38 PM - Edit history (3)
(caps for EMphasis, not shouting)
The US DOES have a VISA system.
Right now, today, this very minute, if corporate owners WANTED immigrants to be legal, all they'd have to do is end the current 5,000 quota of H-1B visas and make them unlimited.
But corporations want you redirected away from themselves and their below-living-wage systems.
Since Bush days, they've told you that immigrants are stealing your jobs of working in the hot sun in our farm fields, slaughterhouse industries, hotel and restaurant industries, right?
They've wanted the middle and working class to hate and fear the vulnerable who need a better life here.
If you were born into safety by accident, why would you turn around and not care for those who are worse off than you?
HISTORICALLY, AMERICA HAS HAD OPEN ARMS FOR EVERYONE BECAUSE THE FOUNDERS SET UP OUR COUNTRY TO WELCOME PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
Anand Giridharadas has often said, America is a country built of the world, from the world, from every part of the world.
Almost all our ancestors were "illegal" at some point.
"Legal" is a construct, as in 'constructed by someone.'
Like "race."
And like "race," and what used to be called "the race problem," "Illegal immigrant" is a made up "problem."
For 283 years, America was literally a sanctuary for debtors, criminals, poor people and theocratic groups.
When immigrant haters get that, they will FINALLY see what Ronald Reagan saw: "ILLEGAL" IS A CONSTRUCT.”
THAT is why Reagan gave permanent amnesty to over 3 million illegals back in his day.
Most Americans don't know that.
Republicans REFUSE to tell THAT truth about Reagan.
America's Founders had no legal immigration status or documents, did they.
No, they did not.
Early Americans "excepted" themselves as "legals" and made themselves "American."
Our Framers of the Constitution literally used the word "asylum" to describe America. Literally. I can quote them.
For its first 283 years, America promoted itself, built its culture, told and wrote some "founding stories" about itself around this "exceptionalism."
Know what the origin of the words "American exceptionalism" was? The first to hit this continent declared themselves legal! They "excepted" themselves with no documentation!
Yes, for 283 years, undocumented immigrants excepted themselves as a founding people.
Our "Legal" immigration system, started in 1882, has always been a cockblock setup by the first illegal immigrants who got here first to keep the "others" out. You know, those who refuse to love their neighbors as themselves.
That it later became a CORPORATE cockblock CONSTRUCT -- based on corporate messaging about money, human class value, racism, xenophobia and fear.
FEAR BECAME PROFITABLE.
Reagan knew that "legal immigration" was a construct. That's why he INSISTED on giving complete amnesty to MILLIONS of undocumented immigrants during his administration.
We absolutely do not have to passively give up on being that country with that First Exceptionalism to entry.
Whether we like immigrants or not -- and who are we to judge, anyway -- remember two things:
Unless your ancestors were here before 1492, your ancestors were immigrants, whether they were 'documented' or not, neither you nor NO Americans or leaders have any "legal" business telling people to stay out. Period.
Why? Because America was FOUNDED by the Founders on that second American Exceptionalism
---- THE FREEDOM TO. BE. HERE.
IF AMERICANS HAVEN'T READ U.S. HISTORY, OR EVEN THEIR BIBLE, THEY NEED TO GO BACK TO CLASS.
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Read Jill Lepore's This America, which lays out all the founders' quotes about America being an asylum and sanctuary for all comers. She explains how we came up with concepts like "exceptionalism" and "nation state" and other terms that relate to immigration, along with the more accurate history of immigration.
The Immigration Act of 1924 was the culmination of racist culture that's been the original sin of this country (and other countries, too, though that doesn't excuse our current iteration of that sin of slavery and now racism).
Today's immigration is just racism's newest lingo -- both part of the smoke & mirrors prism of corporate fascism at work.
Thom Hartmann's Unequal Justice and his Hidden History series lay out the best history of corporations I've ever read. Highly recommended.
Thanks for your post. 
Can I still kick it? We‘ll see.
We Democrats should know US history better. There is good reason to claim that Jill Lepore is the best of our historians.