Louise Rosand: This country was built by immigrants right from the get-go

To The Daily Sun,

"Keep those people out of our country." At least that is what President Donald Trump says in an announcement last week — we don't need them to Make America Great Again. Does he not realize or care that we are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants in this country? Germany's leader, visiting Trump at the White House, gave Trump his grandfather's birth certificate, in a frame ready to hang on the wall. Most people would have been thrilled to receive such a document. Trump, not so much. He made a bad joke about Germany losing the war and D-Day. Coming to the United States from other countries to find a better life was the dream of almost everybody in the world, then and now — I know it was my ancestors' dream because life was hard in their home country and the prospect of a better life was here in the U.S. if they worked hard and became a citizen, which they did, all of them. Some served in the military, during wars, even before they got their citizenship papers as my father did — almost going "down with the ship" in the Pacific theater. Others defended this country and died without being a citizen. I would call that incredulous. Would readers defend their country if they weren't a citizen? This country was built by immigrants right from the get-go. As a country we have made a lot of mistakes (slaves, Native American repression, etc.), but we need people to come and join us in this endeavor if we are to survive as a country. Why do we need immigrants? Our birth rate is going down. And maybe, just maybe, an immigrant has a better idea or works harder than someone else or their children grow up to be a billionaire.

Louise Rosand

Belmont