My father, who passed away this week at 94, was born in Berlin and came to the United States as a 10-year-old, escaping Nazi Germany. I am a second-generation American and have always felt a great affinity for immigrants and the immigrant experience, whether it’s by free choice or life-and-death necessity. That includes the drive to succeed in one’s adopted country, but also the myriad ways immigrants enrich American life with the cultural history they bring.
As I noted in a discussion prompt over two years ago, I am deeply mindful of the genocidal violence toward Native Americans, the horrors of slavery that stripped people from their native lands, and the continuing confrontation with bigotry and fear each new wave of immigrants faces as they become part of the American tapestry. But there is no doubt immigration is central to the American story and its evolution, economically and culturally.
Battles at the southern border and hostility toward refugees more broadly have been a toxic, polarizing force in recent years, raising questions about America’s desire to still be that country described in the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and etched into the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” That has only deepened my desire to welcome, learn from and sometimes mentor immigrant friends.
What about you? How has immigration touched your life? Perhaps you want to share the story of your own family’s immigration history. Maybe you want to focus on immigrant friends or how America’s diverse cultural life—food, music, people, stories, art—has made your life better. As always, I look forward to hearing from each of you and the opportunity for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your comments.
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During the Fall of Saigon that was 50 years ago, our Washington state Governor Dan Evan welcomed Vietnamese refugees to our state. With the incredible cuisine, industriousness, creativity and warmth they bring - our state has been enriched.
For me, it's really mixed--pun intended. I look white as the driven snow, but the truth is far more complex. Forbears from Scotland immigrated to Ireland just in time for the Potato Famine. And then Irish and Scots-Irish from what would become both sides of my family immigrated to the United States, settling on the East Coast and in the South. My maternal great-grandfather--an oversized, violent Irish devil--BOUGHT my great-grandmother from her own father. She was half Cherokee and half black. So in my family, we are part Scots-Irish, part Cherokee, and part West African black who were descended from slaves whose beginnings are lost to memory. Our family hid our mixed blood for three generations. Now I am the heir to everything, and I consider myself fortunate, because, for me, the whole world is my family. I am every color and every race but Asian and Indian, and maybe we'll fix that at some point. [s] I am a melting pot of one, a cauldron in which the fraught histories of hemispheres simmer, distilling a new synergy that is more than the sum of its many parts.
I am the daughter of Holocaust Survivors of the Ghetto Lodz Slave labor Camp. For 5 years their lives teetered in the balance of the Gestapo's need for workers vs their unquenchable blood lust to kill as many Jews as possible.
My dad was in the Resistance & monitored a "radio" passing on critical information to help people survive.
They emigrated here in 1949 with my older sister
They never made much money but we always had food to eat
We just celebrated what would have been Mom's 100th (she died in 2013, dad in 2003)
My late wife was Trinidadian. She emigrated to the US for us to get married and live here. We have a daughter together who is mixed. My current wife emigrated from Spain. The common thread is through where I worked. The research center I worked for did work with World Bank, USAID, and European development agencies.
Immigration makes us better, after all, but for Native Americans we are all immigrants in fact.
Deepest condolences on your loss, Mr. Beschloss. May his memory be a blessing.
I live in Tucson; immigration touches my life every day. My mother was brought here as an infant from Mexico in 1924, worked for the US Army Air Corps Marana Air Field when it opened in 1943, married a fighter pilot cadet, was widowed within nine months in 1944, and immediately enlisted in the US Navy WAVES (the only Latina in her class), becoming a Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Hospital Corps. Her brothers also served in WWII: one in the US Army, and one on the USS Lexington (the Grey Ghost). Many, many immigrants served in our Armed Forces, then AND now.
This city - this state - this country - could not function at all without immigrants. Immigrants come here hungry for work to make a better life for themselves and their children; they make life better for all of us. We need a coherent and humane immigration policy that, sadly, has not been addressed by Congress in decades.
My grandfather came first from the Ukraine with his two oldest sons in 1900 to where else than the Lower East Side of NY. They got a pushcart and saved their nickels to bring Grandma, my Mom the oldest and six younger kids, none of whom spoke a word of English. I love Ukraine now but when they came some of the Ukrainians were trying to kill the Jews! So they struggled, two became doctors, and all were very proud Americans! Slava Ukraini !
My late mother was a Nazi refugee. She was born in Vienna, Austria, and spent her early years in that city. However, after the Anschluss in 1938, her parents saw the way things were going and they snuck across the border into Switzerland, just a few weeks before the Swiss sealed the border to prevent any more "refugees" (translation: Jews) from getting into their country. They lived in the country until 1950 before my grandparents decided that there was no longer a future for the Jewish people in Europe, and they then emigrated to Canada, where she met my father and my sisters and I were born. I moved to the U.S. in 1991 for school, and I have been here ever since (became a citizen in 2008).
I bet your dad was amazed by the son he raised, and the work you do in his adopted homeland. Good for the both of you. My mom, whose grandparents were from Ireland and Wales grew up in West New York, New Jersey in the 30's. She was surrounded by immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Poland and Armenia. To her it was just how things were. Luckily, she passed that sense of acceptance on to my brothers and I. The places that have the immigrants, are the interesting, American places in my mind.
Sorry for your loss, Steve. Peace to all who loved your dad. My paternal grandparents were immigrants in the early 20th century. my maternal lineage has been here longer. Immigration adds to the diversity and energy of a culture (though the indigenous may rightly feel differently.) If you don't grow, you wither and die (in many ways.)
Like so many here I am the child of survivors of the Holocaust. My parents first landing spot after the war was Israel. Family circumstances led to them then emigrating to America. I arrived here as a 7 year old and was a curiosity in my NYC Public School. I have since worked as a teacher and have seen so many students who were born in other lands and like I did, struggle with the language, try to assimilate and keep their birth culture, and begin their education believing that the USA is the best. The rose tinted glasses have since come off.
My mother, who had seen a thing or two, would argue with anyone who claimed there is such a thing as a special American Dream. Everyone dreams, she would be adamant. There is opportunity here, but when your eyes are open you see that the playing field is not level and dreaming is not enough. You need to work hard and have the right circumstances and luck.
Immigrants make the country better and have contributed so very much, but American exceptionalism is a dangerous illusion. Germany had Beethoven, Goethe, etc. and Hitler. We have our great artists, humanitarians and scientists and also people who hate, are violent, greedy and bullies who would cheat so they can have more for themselves.
Let’s not get carried away with national pride. It’s one world and one humanity.
First, good journey for your dad. I wish for him what I wished for my dad when he left, “go explore”.
My father jumped ship in 1939 and made his way to an uncle in Pittsburgh. He was a marine engineer cadet who’d decided to form a student Union and was of course arrested. A political prisoner on Corfu where he lost his finger nails to torture in attempts to get the names of his friends.
He escaped. There was no life for him anymore in Greece.
He joined the us army the morning after Pearl Harbor but was assigned to the merchant marine when he produced his papers. Spent the rest of the war on the convoys taking supplies and soldiers to Britain. My mother was second generation, met and married in 1945. They raised the three of us to revere the freedom and strength of this country. To work hard, do no harm and when possible, make a difference.
You’re correct that we owe Native America for the place our parents and grandparents came to breathe. Our great natural resources aside, the cultural diversity brought by our combined histories unite to make this a country that, warts and all, remains a light forward.
Hope the good memories of your dad always burn bright.
My maternal grandfather came to this country in 1890 and was one of the founders of the ILGWU, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. His position was the bodyguard for their first President, David Dubinsky. My grandparents, parents and I all suffered from acts of religious bigotry, albeit less for me compared to my grandparents.
As our Democracy is not perfect but better than what the Republicans desire, our immigration policy is not perfect as well. However our old and new immigrants have and will continue to enrich our lives .
So sorry for your loss. I arrived in the US as a 9 y/o fleeing communist Cuba. I now live in France with my French spouse but my formative years were spent in the US. I still vote in Maryland.
My family emigrated from Hungary after WWII with what were left our family who survived the camps. I have special love for the United States inspite of the antisemitism here.
I’m very sorry about your loss, Steven. Peace to your and your family.
So much that’s great in this country was created by those who fled persecution abroad. This is an underappreciated strength of our land, I think, and one that doesn’t feature prominently enough in national narratives.
Your father raised an incredible family who make valuable contributions to our society. Thank you for writing about him. I grew up in a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Our neighbors included Blacks, Cuban refugees, Russian Jews, and a variety of religions. We all got along with each other and went to each others birthday parties. Now I have a Primary Care doctor from India and another doctor from Pakistan. Other family members have doctors from Turkey and Somalia! The CNA who helped me care for a sick relative is from Jamaica. There are many health care professionals who come here from the Philippines also. We are really grateful for all of these people.
All I am ticked about is Immigrants like Elon Musk from S. Africa, Robert Murdoch from Australia, Peter Thiele coming in from Germany, and other immigrants who become billionaires here, and then think their money allows them to start to change this government and our democracy and our liberal teachers and leaders to far right fascists. Ole Teddy Cruz , an immigrant from Canada via Cuba - now making laws for US??? THOSE are the immigrants I want deported back and let them try their BS in their own countries.
I am sorry for your loss, losing a parent is a form of grief we are prepared for and yet not prepared.
Our great great grandparents, on both sides, immigrated from Spain. Our Dad's family went to Mexico, our Mom's family went to South America and ended up in Ecuador. I grew up in the 1960's and we were told that we were Spanish, not Mexican. It was a very big deal to be American back then, after the wars. I recall the day our Mom went to Los Angeles to receive her US citizenship.
Immigration is a part of America's fabric of society. It is disheartening how some people are so threatened by diversity.
My mother's great grandfather came to the USA as a young man, settling on the high plains from western Hungary. He brought his entire family (father, mother, siblings) all "chain" migrants in modern parlance. They were Catholic (papists) barely literate, poor farmers, unable to speak more than a few phrases of English in the late 19th century. They would be immediately turned away today.
Eventually that entire area of NW Kansas was transplanted from that region of Austria-Hungary and a few from Sweden. My great, great grandfather and extended family lived in dug out sod homes on staked acreage about 5 miles from town for roughly 20 years, working the land. They endured droughts, flash floods, fires, snakes, disease and death to build one of the area's finest farms in the 1920s on the perimeter of the town where my anti-immigrant (so shameful to me) family still lives today. They spoke German in that town until WWII forced a change. They spoke German on the farm in my lifetime. No doubt much of that homesteaded land displaced the Native Americans that had been living there for centuries. My great grandfather's move to town was hastened by growing tensions between settlers and area Native Americans.
My father's great x10 grandfather arrived in Boston in roughly 1677 and traveled to Deerfield, Massachusetts where he built his home shared with his wife and 8 children. He was away on a trip when the Deerfield raid (an interesting piece of history) took place. His wife and most of his abducted children perished on the march to Canada in February of 1704. His son and my ancestor was a preteen boy named Samuel that elected to stay in Canada. The rest of my ancestors were Canadian until the late 19th century.
I live on the Hammonasset tribal hunting lands today and I am an immigrant's granddaughter.
All of my grandparents immigrated from what was then Russia but now Ukraine. They all were born into the Settlement of the Pale. My maternal grandmother was 8, her sister 6 and a brother was 4. They came through Elllis Island, settled in Wisconsin on a farm and later relocated to Chicago to join other relatives. My paternal grandfather left Russia to avoid being drafted or killed during Bolshevik revolution. Somehow they all ended up in Chicago, where my parents were born and where me and my brother were born. They didn’t talk about it much though later in life, my grandmother recorded for us leaving the shtetl, in a wagon in mud, going to bigger and bigger cities until they reached one with a port. I marvel to think of their bravery and sheer desire to leave their homeland for the promise of religious, personal freedom. They were in the wave of Eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century. Without their determination and bravery, I wouldn’t be here. And we celebrate the freedoms we have but are under attack by those who think they know better.
Losing a parent, regardless of how well one prepares to deal with the eventuality, creates a sorrow that is always greater than anticipated and it'll be there for a very, very long time. My best to you and your family.
Immigration is stuck in a doom loop and opposing it is an expression of political beliefs, in the case of the U.S., it's apparently closely associated with fear of losing the status of being native born.
Nonetheless, a chance to open citizenship to children brought into the country as youngsters is a laudable goal that can be separated from the controversy of bringing in new immigrants. These are the Dreamers and we need them and we need to admit that they deserve all the rights of citizenship, and they deserve it now!
3 of my 4 grandparents on both sides of the family tree were immigrants and one was Native American. All 4 started their own small businesses raised children and had 60 grandchildren on one side of the family tree and 18 on the other side of the family tree. My parents were born as Americans and both my parents graduated from high school, college, graduated with Masters Degrees and my mom earned her PhD. The expectation of college was impressed on me and my 2 sisters and cousins. I earned BA in Political Science/English and a BS in Biology/Chemistry and a Masters Degree in Constitutional Law and Business Finance. One of my sisters earned her BSCE and the other earned he BBA in Marketing. Hard work ethic, education, embrace of our culture and sacrifice were the high bar set for all of my cousins and siblings-we never forget where our roots started. We place value on being human and treat others as we expect to be treated. We were all taught to always be presentable (shower every day, brush your teeth dress respectfully) never give anyone an excuse to belittle us because we embraced our brown skin . We all experienced racism, we we all learned the power of the right to vote and the right to protest peacefully. America is our home we love our country and Democracy. We learned the responsibilities of what being American requires of us-respect, honor , family and the necessity of not allowing the attack on others who are different. We have members who have served in the military and have served as elected officials at the local, state and federal government. We have learned the importance of giving back to a country that has enabled us to live the American dream.
My paternal grandparent immigrated from Germany. My grandfather from Schwerin & my grandmother from Düsseldorf. I believe we should let immigrants into our country, as we always have. It’s how America became a nation.
I remember when FDR spoke to us on the radio during the war Grandma put on her best dress to listen with us to our radio but she never learned a single word of English. Nonetheless she sat respectfully in front of the radio to pay her respects to OUR President! I shared my bedroom with her for 13 years and we played games with string and I read her stories in a mixture of Yiddish and English. America was strengthened by the determination of these peasants to make a success of their lives here, to serve in the US Army as so many of my cousins and I did, and to love our democracy! Why can’t the haters—all of whom were descended from immigrants—embrace our multicultural democracy as their ancestors did? disgraceful! Vote them out!
My earliest ancestors came to this country in the early 1700s. My later ancestors came in the 1860s. The first were English, the second German. I'm happy to say that the first ones made friends with the indigenous people already here. The second came in time to help win the civil war and end slavery. My wife's ancestors came more recently from Mexico and the Philippines. We all have immigrant stories to tell about our families.
May 6, 2023·edited May 6, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
We immigrated here from Lancashire in the North of England in 1957. The proverbial "better life" was sought, particularly for my and my sister's educational opportunities, since the system in England disfavored working class folks like us. My mum had some sentimental reasons. Both she and dad were from Ireland and her aunts and uncles came to the US and sent her store bought clothes and her first pair of high heels. She was always smitten. I side with today's immigrants and those attempting immigration and those "illegal" because for us it was so easy. We didn't have a 10 year wait for a Green Card, just a year. We were white northern Europeans who were favored even then. My great uncle had to promise we wouldn't become burdens to society but he didn't have to put up $50K. We were free to come. It's not fair that the system makes it so hard and is so discriminatory. As an immigrant I believe there should be more options for people to expatriate to other countries, including to and from the US.
My parents' favorite song was God Bless America. Having come here as children, both separated from their fathers - who had come earlier to pave the way financially - for almost ten years, they never took the American dream for granted against the backdrop of the memories of their escapes from oppression in Russia and arduous journeys on foot from Russia to that ship in Antwerp. And with mothers who only spoke Yiddish. How they managed is a mystery lost to history. They arrived in this country with nothing and built free and successful lives for themselves and for us - the generations that followed them. We are now four generations later living an American dream and continually grateful.
So sorry for your loss. I am sure you feel as I feel - so many questions never to be answered.
Condolences on your loss Steven. Even when our parents have lived a good long life, and even when the end is expected, it is still so difficult. Great that you can honor your father with the telling of his story and by living the values he instilled in you.
My story is everybody's story, unless you are descended from indigenous people. The rest of us are all immigrants. My grandparents immigrated from Poland and Ireland.
I became especially sensitive to the plight of immigrants during the Trump years (are they over yet?) as he and his followers sought to vilify and demonize them. From the day he came down his escalator demeaning Mexican refugees as murderers and rapists, I have been incensed. I also feel ashamed that so many of my fellow Americans apparently share such attitudes. As a Texan, I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, employ, and socialize with many folks from Mexico. I have also travelled to Mexico many times and have developed a deep respect and affection for the people there.
In my case, in addition to making my feelings known, I have found several immigrant and refugee organizations to contribute to. I now make monthly donation to the UNHCR. After the horrible hate attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg, I set up a monthly donation to HAIS, despite not being Jewish.
It's a small thing I do, but I feel like if I can help even a little bit, I am part of the solution.
My great grandfather emigrated to the United States from Bavaria when he was 12 years old. He was successful in a small town with hotels and bars.
My grandson’s stepfather emigrated to the US illegally but returned to Mexico to apply for legal re-entry. I sponsored him to do so. The man has worked hard every day since he arrived and I’m very proud of him.
All of my ancestors came from Ireland. One great grandfather was born in 1862 in County Leitrim. His mother, Bridget, left with two of her boys to establish a life in the U.S. She found a position as a housemaid to Elias Howe (according to family legend) and sent money back to her husband for his passage to the States. Her husband was afraid to sail across the ocean, so each time he received funds to travel he passed them on to his brothers. Bridget tired of this and left the U.S. to return to her husband in Ireland. She had two more children. Her husband perished when a sod roof collapsed on him. Bridget took her four sons back to the U.S. and was detained on Ellis Island because authorities thought she would become a “public charge.” She was only able to remain in the country because Mr. Howe guaranteed that she would not be a burden on society. She made her way to Boonville, NY to live where her husband’s bothers were working on the railroad. Other Irish ancestors made their way to northern Pennsylvania via Canada. I am constantly reminded of these stories when I see reports of immigrants on the news or in the press and see how these humans are treated. I have such trouble believing that a nation, largely composed of immigrants, can be so inhumane to others who are seeking the same of life.
I am second generation, my maternal grandmother immigrated from the Ukraine, which I am very proud of especially in light of their commitment to democracy by putting their lives on the line.
My condolences on the passing of your father, my dad died last year at 97, he was a WWII veteran. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have spent my life in Southern California. We do need to constrain immigration, but the scapegoating of immigrants is horrible. They bring energy, drive, variety in their quest to improve their lives. Ultimately, we all benefit.
Sorry for your loss. Both sets of grandparents were born in Italy. I’ve met some amazing and inspiring immigrants in my lifetime. One of my favorite lines from the musical “Hamilton” is: “Immigrants! We get the job done!”
My dad came to the USA from St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1923. He passed in 1999. He was proud to be an American. I was glad he did not have to witness 9/11 or see what Putin has done to Russia. He wrote about changing countries in his memoir, Emigre, 95 Years in the Life of a Russian Count: "As I reflect on the intense distress I felt that day, I now realize that the loss of one's country can be one of life's greatest sorrows. Exile, I've learned, is not emigration. It's not something you choose voluntarily, such as a different place to live. It means being expelled from your homeland to live elsewhere, accepting from then on the world of a stranger, becoming someone who must always grope to understand a culture not his own."
Steven, I am moved by all the loving stories everyone is sharing here. I think hearing that you just lost your Dad is opening all our hearts in a shared grief with you. I can feel how much everyone cares. Our sharing is a way of honoring all we hold precious.
I am grateful to find and join this beautiful community of souls, emerging and growing in response to your fine writing. I'm a
conservative who loves liberals and hopes to help build the center, so we can hold our country together. I am here to learn. I am ignorant on immigration so am learning a lot here from everyone. Thank you.
My Great Grandparents, Helmuth & Agusta Mau, immigrated to America in 1891 with her mother and my then 12 yo grandma. They settled in Bloomington IL where he worked as a copper & tin smith at the C&A shops (Chicago & Alton). They lost several children in Germany and had two more after arriving. He made multiple items for their home - his shaving stand including the pitcher & waste bin; their coffee maker, spice cabinet and multiple other items. After years in the attic my mother asked about donating them and so we did - to the McLean County Museum of History where their story and items are on display in the Making a Home gallery. Their naturalization papers,, marriage certificate, Helmuth's diary of their journey and his certification as a master C&T-smith plus other family documents are also in the Museum archives.
I remember hearing tales of how frightened Great-great Grandma was during WWI because she was afraid the Kaiser would make them all return to Germany. I have always been proud of my ancestors and their courage to leave a place they knew to find a better life in another land. And I continue to pray that America will always be a Country of democracy and safe for all.
I am a 1st gen American on my father’s side as he came over with his parents as a toddler. My grandparents were chaemsed out of Łódź Poland by the Cossacks in the early 1900s. My father joined the Navy to defend his country and tested into the USNA from the fleet during a typhoon (bucket at his side). He was graduated early with the Class of 1941 and his first ship was the USS Arizona. He had shore leave (his medical paperwork hasn’t arrived and his CO sent him to Ford Hospital to repeat his physical) on the morning of December 7th 1941. He watched the kamikazes attack and took a PT boat out to pull sailors from the harbor- and take the Arizona’s flag down as his ship sunk. My father ended up being the youngest Destroyer commander in WW2 when during the battle of Okinawa. THIS is why immigrants get the job done.
My father left Hungary in 1926. His mom, brother and sister came to join my grandfather in New York. We are Jewish so I would likely not be here if they hadn't come to America. Side note: The only Hungarian word I know is luppart. Which I thought was the English word for dustpan, because that was the word my dad always used for that object.
May 6, 2023·edited May 6, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
I have lived in Montana with a rich Native American culture, then CA with Mexican Americans and immigrants...the best food on the planet!!!! Very sorry on the passing of your father.
I’m 3rd generation through my paternal grandfather, and second through my paternal grandmother. My grandfather was born in Boston in 1891, but his family worked back and forth between Mass and Nova Scotia for work, and his younger brother was born in Baddeck. My grandmother was born in London and came alone to the US at 14 to attend school in NH. The British Isles immigration was easier than it was for most other immigrants.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your father. May his memory be a blessing.
About 3/4 of the ancestors on my mom's side arrived in the 1600s to get away from state religion in England. I guess that is in the DNA because I am EXTREMELY irate about all the current attempts to undermine separation of church and state.
When I was a kid, Mom started taking me to Milwaukee's international festival, and it was so exciting to see people from all over and try new kinds of food. I was also very fortunate to have classmates whose families were from other continents, and my school had exchange students from South America. I can't imagine why anyone would want a country where everybody is the same.
During the Fall of Saigon that was 50 years ago, our Washington state Governor Dan Evan welcomed Vietnamese refugees to our state. With the incredible cuisine, industriousness, creativity and warmth they bring - our state has been enriched.
For me, it's really mixed--pun intended. I look white as the driven snow, but the truth is far more complex. Forbears from Scotland immigrated to Ireland just in time for the Potato Famine. And then Irish and Scots-Irish from what would become both sides of my family immigrated to the United States, settling on the East Coast and in the South. My maternal great-grandfather--an oversized, violent Irish devil--BOUGHT my great-grandmother from her own father. She was half Cherokee and half black. So in my family, we are part Scots-Irish, part Cherokee, and part West African black who were descended from slaves whose beginnings are lost to memory. Our family hid our mixed blood for three generations. Now I am the heir to everything, and I consider myself fortunate, because, for me, the whole world is my family. I am every color and every race but Asian and Indian, and maybe we'll fix that at some point. [s] I am a melting pot of one, a cauldron in which the fraught histories of hemispheres simmer, distilling a new synergy that is more than the sum of its many parts.
I am the daughter of Holocaust Survivors of the Ghetto Lodz Slave labor Camp. For 5 years their lives teetered in the balance of the Gestapo's need for workers vs their unquenchable blood lust to kill as many Jews as possible.
My dad was in the Resistance & monitored a "radio" passing on critical information to help people survive.
They emigrated here in 1949 with my older sister
They never made much money but we always had food to eat
We just celebrated what would have been Mom's 100th (she died in 2013, dad in 2003)
We are 30 strong ages 1-77
When we say #NeverForget?
WE MEAN IT
!https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/29/1676433/-This-Radio-Saved-Over-750-Lives-The-Critical-Importance-of-FreedomOfThePress
My late wife was Trinidadian. She emigrated to the US for us to get married and live here. We have a daughter together who is mixed. My current wife emigrated from Spain. The common thread is through where I worked. The research center I worked for did work with World Bank, USAID, and European development agencies.
Immigration makes us better, after all, but for Native Americans we are all immigrants in fact.
Deepest condolences on your loss, Mr. Beschloss. May his memory be a blessing.
I live in Tucson; immigration touches my life every day. My mother was brought here as an infant from Mexico in 1924, worked for the US Army Air Corps Marana Air Field when it opened in 1943, married a fighter pilot cadet, was widowed within nine months in 1944, and immediately enlisted in the US Navy WAVES (the only Latina in her class), becoming a Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Hospital Corps. Her brothers also served in WWII: one in the US Army, and one on the USS Lexington (the Grey Ghost). Many, many immigrants served in our Armed Forces, then AND now.
This city - this state - this country - could not function at all without immigrants. Immigrants come here hungry for work to make a better life for themselves and their children; they make life better for all of us. We need a coherent and humane immigration policy that, sadly, has not been addressed by Congress in decades.
My grandfather came first from the Ukraine with his two oldest sons in 1900 to where else than the Lower East Side of NY. They got a pushcart and saved their nickels to bring Grandma, my Mom the oldest and six younger kids, none of whom spoke a word of English. I love Ukraine now but when they came some of the Ukrainians were trying to kill the Jews! So they struggled, two became doctors, and all were very proud Americans! Slava Ukraini !
My late mother was a Nazi refugee. She was born in Vienna, Austria, and spent her early years in that city. However, after the Anschluss in 1938, her parents saw the way things were going and they snuck across the border into Switzerland, just a few weeks before the Swiss sealed the border to prevent any more "refugees" (translation: Jews) from getting into their country. They lived in the country until 1950 before my grandparents decided that there was no longer a future for the Jewish people in Europe, and they then emigrated to Canada, where she met my father and my sisters and I were born. I moved to the U.S. in 1991 for school, and I have been here ever since (became a citizen in 2008).
I bet your dad was amazed by the son he raised, and the work you do in his adopted homeland. Good for the both of you. My mom, whose grandparents were from Ireland and Wales grew up in West New York, New Jersey in the 30's. She was surrounded by immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Poland and Armenia. To her it was just how things were. Luckily, she passed that sense of acceptance on to my brothers and I. The places that have the immigrants, are the interesting, American places in my mind.
Sorry for your loss, Steve. Peace to all who loved your dad. My paternal grandparents were immigrants in the early 20th century. my maternal lineage has been here longer. Immigration adds to the diversity and energy of a culture (though the indigenous may rightly feel differently.) If you don't grow, you wither and die (in many ways.)
Like so many here I am the child of survivors of the Holocaust. My parents first landing spot after the war was Israel. Family circumstances led to them then emigrating to America. I arrived here as a 7 year old and was a curiosity in my NYC Public School. I have since worked as a teacher and have seen so many students who were born in other lands and like I did, struggle with the language, try to assimilate and keep their birth culture, and begin their education believing that the USA is the best. The rose tinted glasses have since come off.
My mother, who had seen a thing or two, would argue with anyone who claimed there is such a thing as a special American Dream. Everyone dreams, she would be adamant. There is opportunity here, but when your eyes are open you see that the playing field is not level and dreaming is not enough. You need to work hard and have the right circumstances and luck.
Immigrants make the country better and have contributed so very much, but American exceptionalism is a dangerous illusion. Germany had Beethoven, Goethe, etc. and Hitler. We have our great artists, humanitarians and scientists and also people who hate, are violent, greedy and bullies who would cheat so they can have more for themselves.
Let’s not get carried away with national pride. It’s one world and one humanity.
First, good journey for your dad. I wish for him what I wished for my dad when he left, “go explore”.
My father jumped ship in 1939 and made his way to an uncle in Pittsburgh. He was a marine engineer cadet who’d decided to form a student Union and was of course arrested. A political prisoner on Corfu where he lost his finger nails to torture in attempts to get the names of his friends.
He escaped. There was no life for him anymore in Greece.
He joined the us army the morning after Pearl Harbor but was assigned to the merchant marine when he produced his papers. Spent the rest of the war on the convoys taking supplies and soldiers to Britain. My mother was second generation, met and married in 1945. They raised the three of us to revere the freedom and strength of this country. To work hard, do no harm and when possible, make a difference.
You’re correct that we owe Native America for the place our parents and grandparents came to breathe. Our great natural resources aside, the cultural diversity brought by our combined histories unite to make this a country that, warts and all, remains a light forward.
Hope the good memories of your dad always burn bright.
My maternal grandfather came to this country in 1890 and was one of the founders of the ILGWU, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. His position was the bodyguard for their first President, David Dubinsky. My grandparents, parents and I all suffered from acts of religious bigotry, albeit less for me compared to my grandparents.
As our Democracy is not perfect but better than what the Republicans desire, our immigration policy is not perfect as well. However our old and new immigrants have and will continue to enrich our lives .
So sorry for your loss. I arrived in the US as a 9 y/o fleeing communist Cuba. I now live in France with my French spouse but my formative years were spent in the US. I still vote in Maryland.
My family emigrated from Hungary after WWII with what were left our family who survived the camps. I have special love for the United States inspite of the antisemitism here.
I’m very sorry about your loss, Steven. Peace to your and your family.
So much that’s great in this country was created by those who fled persecution abroad. This is an underappreciated strength of our land, I think, and one that doesn’t feature prominently enough in national narratives.
Your father raised an incredible family who make valuable contributions to our society. Thank you for writing about him. I grew up in a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Our neighbors included Blacks, Cuban refugees, Russian Jews, and a variety of religions. We all got along with each other and went to each others birthday parties. Now I have a Primary Care doctor from India and another doctor from Pakistan. Other family members have doctors from Turkey and Somalia! The CNA who helped me care for a sick relative is from Jamaica. There are many health care professionals who come here from the Philippines also. We are really grateful for all of these people.
Sorry for your loss. I wonder what your father must have thought his last years seeing what has happened to his beloved America.
All I am ticked about is Immigrants like Elon Musk from S. Africa, Robert Murdoch from Australia, Peter Thiele coming in from Germany, and other immigrants who become billionaires here, and then think their money allows them to start to change this government and our democracy and our liberal teachers and leaders to far right fascists. Ole Teddy Cruz , an immigrant from Canada via Cuba - now making laws for US??? THOSE are the immigrants I want deported back and let them try their BS in their own countries.
I am sorry for your loss, losing a parent is a form of grief we are prepared for and yet not prepared.
Our great great grandparents, on both sides, immigrated from Spain. Our Dad's family went to Mexico, our Mom's family went to South America and ended up in Ecuador. I grew up in the 1960's and we were told that we were Spanish, not Mexican. It was a very big deal to be American back then, after the wars. I recall the day our Mom went to Los Angeles to receive her US citizenship.
Immigration is a part of America's fabric of society. It is disheartening how some people are so threatened by diversity.
On the eve of Trump's inauguration, I wrote this essay as I tribute to my parents who escaped Nazi Europe to build new lives in this country: https://brucewmainzer.substack.com/p/my-parents-have-been-spared
I am sorry for your loss.
My mother's great grandfather came to the USA as a young man, settling on the high plains from western Hungary. He brought his entire family (father, mother, siblings) all "chain" migrants in modern parlance. They were Catholic (papists) barely literate, poor farmers, unable to speak more than a few phrases of English in the late 19th century. They would be immediately turned away today.
Eventually that entire area of NW Kansas was transplanted from that region of Austria-Hungary and a few from Sweden. My great, great grandfather and extended family lived in dug out sod homes on staked acreage about 5 miles from town for roughly 20 years, working the land. They endured droughts, flash floods, fires, snakes, disease and death to build one of the area's finest farms in the 1920s on the perimeter of the town where my anti-immigrant (so shameful to me) family still lives today. They spoke German in that town until WWII forced a change. They spoke German on the farm in my lifetime. No doubt much of that homesteaded land displaced the Native Americans that had been living there for centuries. My great grandfather's move to town was hastened by growing tensions between settlers and area Native Americans.
My father's great x10 grandfather arrived in Boston in roughly 1677 and traveled to Deerfield, Massachusetts where he built his home shared with his wife and 8 children. He was away on a trip when the Deerfield raid (an interesting piece of history) took place. His wife and most of his abducted children perished on the march to Canada in February of 1704. His son and my ancestor was a preteen boy named Samuel that elected to stay in Canada. The rest of my ancestors were Canadian until the late 19th century.
I live on the Hammonasset tribal hunting lands today and I am an immigrant's granddaughter.
All of my grandparents immigrated from what was then Russia but now Ukraine. They all were born into the Settlement of the Pale. My maternal grandmother was 8, her sister 6 and a brother was 4. They came through Elllis Island, settled in Wisconsin on a farm and later relocated to Chicago to join other relatives. My paternal grandfather left Russia to avoid being drafted or killed during Bolshevik revolution. Somehow they all ended up in Chicago, where my parents were born and where me and my brother were born. They didn’t talk about it much though later in life, my grandmother recorded for us leaving the shtetl, in a wagon in mud, going to bigger and bigger cities until they reached one with a port. I marvel to think of their bravery and sheer desire to leave their homeland for the promise of religious, personal freedom. They were in the wave of Eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century. Without their determination and bravery, I wouldn’t be here. And we celebrate the freedoms we have but are under attack by those who think they know better.
Losing a parent, regardless of how well one prepares to deal with the eventuality, creates a sorrow that is always greater than anticipated and it'll be there for a very, very long time. My best to you and your family.
Immigration is stuck in a doom loop and opposing it is an expression of political beliefs, in the case of the U.S., it's apparently closely associated with fear of losing the status of being native born.
Nonetheless, a chance to open citizenship to children brought into the country as youngsters is a laudable goal that can be separated from the controversy of bringing in new immigrants. These are the Dreamers and we need them and we need to admit that they deserve all the rights of citizenship, and they deserve it now!
Thank you
My grandfather came from Italy legally with his Aunt after both parents died
He was 7
My father found his name and date in the Ellis Island records
Although I love Italy I am very grateful he came to the US
He had four sons
All volunteered to serve during WWll
All survived though my father was badly injured
3 of my 4 grandparents on both sides of the family tree were immigrants and one was Native American. All 4 started their own small businesses raised children and had 60 grandchildren on one side of the family tree and 18 on the other side of the family tree. My parents were born as Americans and both my parents graduated from high school, college, graduated with Masters Degrees and my mom earned her PhD. The expectation of college was impressed on me and my 2 sisters and cousins. I earned BA in Political Science/English and a BS in Biology/Chemistry and a Masters Degree in Constitutional Law and Business Finance. One of my sisters earned her BSCE and the other earned he BBA in Marketing. Hard work ethic, education, embrace of our culture and sacrifice were the high bar set for all of my cousins and siblings-we never forget where our roots started. We place value on being human and treat others as we expect to be treated. We were all taught to always be presentable (shower every day, brush your teeth dress respectfully) never give anyone an excuse to belittle us because we embraced our brown skin . We all experienced racism, we we all learned the power of the right to vote and the right to protest peacefully. America is our home we love our country and Democracy. We learned the responsibilities of what being American requires of us-respect, honor , family and the necessity of not allowing the attack on others who are different. We have members who have served in the military and have served as elected officials at the local, state and federal government. We have learned the importance of giving back to a country that has enabled us to live the American dream.
My paternal grandparent immigrated from Germany. My grandfather from Schwerin & my grandmother from Düsseldorf. I believe we should let immigrants into our country, as we always have. It’s how America became a nation.
I remember when FDR spoke to us on the radio during the war Grandma put on her best dress to listen with us to our radio but she never learned a single word of English. Nonetheless she sat respectfully in front of the radio to pay her respects to OUR President! I shared my bedroom with her for 13 years and we played games with string and I read her stories in a mixture of Yiddish and English. America was strengthened by the determination of these peasants to make a success of their lives here, to serve in the US Army as so many of my cousins and I did, and to love our democracy! Why can’t the haters—all of whom were descended from immigrants—embrace our multicultural democracy as their ancestors did? disgraceful! Vote them out!
My earliest ancestors came to this country in the early 1700s. My later ancestors came in the 1860s. The first were English, the second German. I'm happy to say that the first ones made friends with the indigenous people already here. The second came in time to help win the civil war and end slavery. My wife's ancestors came more recently from Mexico and the Philippines. We all have immigrant stories to tell about our families.
We immigrated here from Lancashire in the North of England in 1957. The proverbial "better life" was sought, particularly for my and my sister's educational opportunities, since the system in England disfavored working class folks like us. My mum had some sentimental reasons. Both she and dad were from Ireland and her aunts and uncles came to the US and sent her store bought clothes and her first pair of high heels. She was always smitten. I side with today's immigrants and those attempting immigration and those "illegal" because for us it was so easy. We didn't have a 10 year wait for a Green Card, just a year. We were white northern Europeans who were favored even then. My great uncle had to promise we wouldn't become burdens to society but he didn't have to put up $50K. We were free to come. It's not fair that the system makes it so hard and is so discriminatory. As an immigrant I believe there should be more options for people to expatriate to other countries, including to and from the US.
My parents' favorite song was God Bless America. Having come here as children, both separated from their fathers - who had come earlier to pave the way financially - for almost ten years, they never took the American dream for granted against the backdrop of the memories of their escapes from oppression in Russia and arduous journeys on foot from Russia to that ship in Antwerp. And with mothers who only spoke Yiddish. How they managed is a mystery lost to history. They arrived in this country with nothing and built free and successful lives for themselves and for us - the generations that followed them. We are now four generations later living an American dream and continually grateful.
So sorry for your loss. I am sure you feel as I feel - so many questions never to be answered.
Condolences on your loss Steven. Even when our parents have lived a good long life, and even when the end is expected, it is still so difficult. Great that you can honor your father with the telling of his story and by living the values he instilled in you.
My story is everybody's story, unless you are descended from indigenous people. The rest of us are all immigrants. My grandparents immigrated from Poland and Ireland.
I became especially sensitive to the plight of immigrants during the Trump years (are they over yet?) as he and his followers sought to vilify and demonize them. From the day he came down his escalator demeaning Mexican refugees as murderers and rapists, I have been incensed. I also feel ashamed that so many of my fellow Americans apparently share such attitudes. As a Texan, I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, employ, and socialize with many folks from Mexico. I have also travelled to Mexico many times and have developed a deep respect and affection for the people there.
In my case, in addition to making my feelings known, I have found several immigrant and refugee organizations to contribute to. I now make monthly donation to the UNHCR. After the horrible hate attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg, I set up a monthly donation to HAIS, despite not being Jewish.
It's a small thing I do, but I feel like if I can help even a little bit, I am part of the solution.
My great grandfather emigrated to the United States from Bavaria when he was 12 years old. He was successful in a small town with hotels and bars.
My grandson’s stepfather emigrated to the US illegally but returned to Mexico to apply for legal re-entry. I sponsored him to do so. The man has worked hard every day since he arrived and I’m very proud of him.
All of my ancestors came from Ireland. One great grandfather was born in 1862 in County Leitrim. His mother, Bridget, left with two of her boys to establish a life in the U.S. She found a position as a housemaid to Elias Howe (according to family legend) and sent money back to her husband for his passage to the States. Her husband was afraid to sail across the ocean, so each time he received funds to travel he passed them on to his brothers. Bridget tired of this and left the U.S. to return to her husband in Ireland. She had two more children. Her husband perished when a sod roof collapsed on him. Bridget took her four sons back to the U.S. and was detained on Ellis Island because authorities thought she would become a “public charge.” She was only able to remain in the country because Mr. Howe guaranteed that she would not be a burden on society. She made her way to Boonville, NY to live where her husband’s bothers were working on the railroad. Other Irish ancestors made their way to northern Pennsylvania via Canada. I am constantly reminded of these stories when I see reports of immigrants on the news or in the press and see how these humans are treated. I have such trouble believing that a nation, largely composed of immigrants, can be so inhumane to others who are seeking the same of life.
I am second generation, my maternal grandmother immigrated from the Ukraine, which I am very proud of especially in light of their commitment to democracy by putting their lives on the line.
My condolences on the passing of your father, my dad died last year at 97, he was a WWII veteran. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have spent my life in Southern California. We do need to constrain immigration, but the scapegoating of immigrants is horrible. They bring energy, drive, variety in their quest to improve their lives. Ultimately, we all benefit.
Sorry for your loss. Both sets of grandparents were born in Italy. I’ve met some amazing and inspiring immigrants in my lifetime. One of my favorite lines from the musical “Hamilton” is: “Immigrants! We get the job done!”
My dad came to the USA from St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1923. He passed in 1999. He was proud to be an American. I was glad he did not have to witness 9/11 or see what Putin has done to Russia. He wrote about changing countries in his memoir, Emigre, 95 Years in the Life of a Russian Count: "As I reflect on the intense distress I felt that day, I now realize that the loss of one's country can be one of life's greatest sorrows. Exile, I've learned, is not emigration. It's not something you choose voluntarily, such as a different place to live. It means being expelled from your homeland to live elsewhere, accepting from then on the world of a stranger, becoming someone who must always grope to understand a culture not his own."
Steven, I am moved by all the loving stories everyone is sharing here. I think hearing that you just lost your Dad is opening all our hearts in a shared grief with you. I can feel how much everyone cares. Our sharing is a way of honoring all we hold precious.
I am grateful to find and join this beautiful community of souls, emerging and growing in response to your fine writing. I'm a
conservative who loves liberals and hopes to help build the center, so we can hold our country together. I am here to learn. I am ignorant on immigration so am learning a lot here from everyone. Thank you.
My Great Grandparents, Helmuth & Agusta Mau, immigrated to America in 1891 with her mother and my then 12 yo grandma. They settled in Bloomington IL where he worked as a copper & tin smith at the C&A shops (Chicago & Alton). They lost several children in Germany and had two more after arriving. He made multiple items for their home - his shaving stand including the pitcher & waste bin; their coffee maker, spice cabinet and multiple other items. After years in the attic my mother asked about donating them and so we did - to the McLean County Museum of History where their story and items are on display in the Making a Home gallery. Their naturalization papers,, marriage certificate, Helmuth's diary of their journey and his certification as a master C&T-smith plus other family documents are also in the Museum archives.
I remember hearing tales of how frightened Great-great Grandma was during WWI because she was afraid the Kaiser would make them all return to Germany. I have always been proud of my ancestors and their courage to leave a place they knew to find a better life in another land. And I continue to pray that America will always be a Country of democracy and safe for all.
I am a 1st gen American on my father’s side as he came over with his parents as a toddler. My grandparents were chaemsed out of Łódź Poland by the Cossacks in the early 1900s. My father joined the Navy to defend his country and tested into the USNA from the fleet during a typhoon (bucket at his side). He was graduated early with the Class of 1941 and his first ship was the USS Arizona. He had shore leave (his medical paperwork hasn’t arrived and his CO sent him to Ford Hospital to repeat his physical) on the morning of December 7th 1941. He watched the kamikazes attack and took a PT boat out to pull sailors from the harbor- and take the Arizona’s flag down as his ship sunk. My father ended up being the youngest Destroyer commander in WW2 when during the battle of Okinawa. THIS is why immigrants get the job done.
I am so sorry for your loss Steven. Thank you for sharing yours and his story.
My father left Hungary in 1926. His mom, brother and sister came to join my grandfather in New York. We are Jewish so I would likely not be here if they hadn't come to America. Side note: The only Hungarian word I know is luppart. Which I thought was the English word for dustpan, because that was the word my dad always used for that object.
My deepest condolences to you and your family. May your memories of your father easy the grief and loss you feel.
I have lived in Montana with a rich Native American culture, then CA with Mexican Americans and immigrants...the best food on the planet!!!! Very sorry on the passing of your father.
I’m 3rd generation through my paternal grandfather, and second through my paternal grandmother. My grandfather was born in Boston in 1891, but his family worked back and forth between Mass and Nova Scotia for work, and his younger brother was born in Baddeck. My grandmother was born in London and came alone to the US at 14 to attend school in NH. The British Isles immigration was easier than it was for most other immigrants.
My condolences on the passing of your father 🙏
PS Steven, meant to also include condolences on the loss of your father. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your father. May his memory be a blessing.
About 3/4 of the ancestors on my mom's side arrived in the 1600s to get away from state religion in England. I guess that is in the DNA because I am EXTREMELY irate about all the current attempts to undermine separation of church and state.
When I was a kid, Mom started taking me to Milwaukee's international festival, and it was so exciting to see people from all over and try new kinds of food. I was also very fortunate to have classmates whose families were from other continents, and my school had exchange students from South America. I can't imagine why anyone would want a country where everybody is the same.
Condolences on the passing of your father, Steven.