Why American Universities Need Immigrants

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” To these familiar words engraved on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty that express the compassion and tolerance of American society at its best, one might add: “Give us your inquisitive and creative minds, who aspire to truth and knowledge, Who we will weave into the fabric of our great universities.”

Opening America’s arms to immigrant populations and political refugees affirms it national ideals and compassion. That tolerance has also been instrumental in the ascent of the country’s university system to international preeminence. But while America is often spoken of as a “nation of immigrants,” it has not always welcomed immigrant groups with open arms or accepted them as “true” citizens during perceived perilous times. A prime example of the capacity for intolerance (and later admission of the shame of these actions) occurred 75 years ago when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which of up to 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese origin after the outbreak of World War II. Their incarceration was based