The Immigrant's Statue

The Statue of Liberty, national monument of the United States and symbol of New York, represents freedom and emancipation in relation to oppression. It is located at the mouth of the Hudson River. It was a gift from France to the United States to commemorate the centenary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. This giant bronze colossus welcomes immigrants from all over the world regardless of race, social class or beliefs.

Between 1886 and 1924, almost 14 million immigrants from all over the world entered the United States through New York. The statue was a resounding symbol that they had reached the land of their dreams. For these anxious newcomers, the torch did not suggest "enlightenment" as its creators intended, rather it was a "welcome" message. As time passed, immigrants began to call the statue "The Mother of Exiles" as a symbol of hope for the next generations of immigrants.

In 1903 Emma Lazarus's poem, "The New Colossus", was immortalized on a bronze pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Emma was an American Jewish daughter of Moses Lazarus and Esther Cardozo, both of families descended from Sephardic Portuguese Jews whose members had emigrated to New York in the past. Initially she had rejected the offer to write the poem, but the writer Constance Cary Harrison convinced her that the statue would be of great importance for immigrants arriving to the port.

“The new colossus” has precisely this name because it does not speak of the Colossus of Rhodes, but of a “new” one: this statue of a woman that stands in New York does not take care of the city of foreigners but rather welcomes them and lends them his coat. The mother of the exiles opens the doors to those who were lost in the storm and makes a clear request to the world "give me the unfortunate, the homeless and lost in the storm", very subtly and at the same time firm, asks to hand them over while she holds the flame of the torch in her hand that shows the way to the great golden entrance door.”
Source: Azcona, Natalie. “El Poema Escondido En La Estatua De La Libertad Es Un Canto De Amor a Los Inmigrantes.” Viva Noticias, 4 Aug. 2017, https://vivanoticias.net/poema-escondido-la-estatua-la-libertad-canto-amor-los-inmigrantes/.

These foundations were what drove the United States to be the nation it is today, a country full of cultural diversity and hope for the immigrant in search of a successful future. The United States is the country that houses the largest number of immigrants in the world; even so, the current administration seeks to change those key foundations to restrict entry to dreamers seeking a future in this great country that is the United States.

Statue of Liberty - 1890