The Statue of Liberty stands tall in New York Harbor, her golden torch a beacon of hope and promise. At her feet, the famous lines are inscribed: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” For generations, these words have embodied the American ideal, the dream that has drawn millions from around the world to U.S. shores in pursuit of a better life.
Under the current administration, the warm welcome symbolized by Lady Liberty’s torch has given way to cold exclusion, with rhetoric and policies that seem to slam the door on the foreign-born. When a president disparages immigrants from certain countries, proposes banning Muslims and talks about building walls, it sends a message that people from other countries are not truly welcome here. It creates a climate of fear and division across campuses.
Today’s immigrants — largely from Latin America, Asia and Africa — are subjected to the same skepticism and hostility that past generations faced. Travel bans, restrictive visa policies and calls for mass deportation mirror the exclusionary attitudes of the past. In 2017, the Trump administration’s travel ban targeted predominantly Muslim-majority nations, echoing past discriminatory laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
DACA recipients, who were brought to the U.S. as children, have had their legal status thrown into disarray despite being as American as anyone else in all but paperwork. Refugees fleeing violence and persecution are met with suspicion and drastically reduced resettlement quotas, no matter how thoroughly they are vetted. Work visa holders and international students, who bring valuable skills and innovation to the U.S. economy, face increasing uncertainty about their futures here.
The immigrants of today come to America seeking a better life through hard work. They contribute to the economy, start businesses and enrich communities. One in four high-tech startups has an immigrant founder. Over 70 percent of agricultural workers are immigrants. They do the jobs that keep the country running. Yet too often, they are scapegoated, targeted by nativist backlash in an ugly pattern that repeats throughout American history.
The H-1B visa program has long served as a critical pathway for international students to transition from academic environments to professional roles within the U.S. In 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received a staggering 780,884 H-1B registrations — one of the highest numbers ever. The demand is evident, yet rather than rising to meet this demand by expanding opportunities, the current administration has instead doubled down on restricting access.
These restrictions, however, are just one piece of a broader pattern. The administration’s unpredictability extends beyond visas to financial markets where their approach towards economic policy has many experts warning of potential currency devaluation moves, not unlike the Plaza Accord of 1985. Countries already bear witness to increasing exchange rates, making education and living expenses growingly more expensive for international students and immigrants alike. For many international students, a strong dollar could very well be the difference between an achievable dream and an impossible burden.
It is also worth reflecting on the fact that, apart from Native Americans, the ancestors of all U.S. citizens today were originally immigrants themselves. The United States has a long and proud history as a nation of immigrants. People from all corners of the world have journeyed here over the generations to seek opportunity, freedom and a better life. In that sense, today’s immigrants simply hope to follow in the same footsteps as the ancestors of most present-day Americans. The only real difference is one of timing rather than intent and the shifting definitions of who gets to be considered “American.”
None of this is to deny the real challenges and complexities that come with immigration in the 21st century globalized world. Issues of security, economic impact, assimilation and more deserve rigorous and thoughtful debate. Yet it is of the common view that for too long has the conversation been predicated on a false dichotomy, America is and always has been a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. Indeed it is because these two visions are intertwined, America cannot be a nation of laws if those laws are antithetical to its history and ideals as a nation of immigrants.
Did we miss the fine print on the Statue of Liberty that says ‘Terms and conditions may apply’?