They are adventurers who get up and go when times are tough or take off just because they think can get a better deal somewhere else. My objections start with the depiction of immigrants, вЂњtired вЂ¦ poor вЂ¦ wretched refuse вЂ¦ the homeless, tempest-tost.вЂќ That description applies to some refugees for sure, but not to most immigrants. We live in a different era of immigration, and the schmaltzy sonnet offers a dangerously distorted picture of the relationship between newcomers and the new land.вЂќ

Some years ago I wrote a piece for the Washington Post that gets dragged out on days like Wednesday because I opined that the poem вЂњcan safely be removed, shrouded or at least marked with a big asterisk. The statue and the poem only gradually became prominent symbols of generous immigration policies, reaching an apotheosis with the 1986 centennial celebrations, a Reagan-era corporate extravaganza. It was meant at a tribute to the writer, a socialite who was also an advocate for Jewish refugees and who died young. Originally written for an auction that raised funds for the statueвЂ™s pedestal, the now famous words did not reach the statue until 1903 and then only on a bronze plaque placed inconspicuously in a stairway landing. The poem, вЂњThe New Colossus,вЂќ was added later. Millions of immigrants knew they had arrived at a spiritual destination as much as a geographic one when they saw the robed woman, her crown and torch. That was the intent of its creators, and thatвЂ™s why she holds a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence. Since it was erected in 1886 the Statue of Liberty has served as an emblem of what the United States has to offer the world, liberty as a form of enlightenment.

Emma lazarus poem