Utah got a little bit better, a little bit richer, a little bit more true to itself, last week when 148 new U.S. citizens took their oath at the Utah State Capitol.
Immigrants and refugees from 50 nations thus became full, legal U.S. citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities attending thereto.
The effort they had to go through, the travel, the legal hoops, the paperwork, the written exams, the waiting and worrying, demonstrate that each of them thought they were going to benefit from attaining citizenship.
But, as Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall noted at the ceremony, our community, state and nation will benefit greatly as well.
Research shows that new citizens specifically, and immigrants in general, contribute greatly to our culture and our economy. These exceptional strivers start businesses and create economic activity at levels far beyond their number. Their children, even more so.
The inability of our political class to create a logical and humane immigration system not only burdens some communities with the costs of taking in migrants, it also deprives our nation of much-needed labor, brainpower and cultural diversity.
Mistrust and rejection of “the other” has always been among the more self-destructive aspects of American culture. A political climate increasingly characterized by a nasty xenophobia will hurt all of us, even those of us many generations away from our own immigrant past.
Political feuding about immigration should not stop us from honoring those who played by all the rules and have become citizens.
Welcome, one and all.
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