The American dream meets reality check

My family tells stories of our immigration to the United States: they were said to be from the town where the very popular musical "Fiddler on the Roof" is set (although I have not been able to verify this claim). An arduous journey ... to look for a life they could rebuild. Make no mistake, my ancestors never wanted to leave their home but were given little choice. My family's boat was the last to arrive in the United States before the rest were diverted to Cuba, seeking asylum for their own self-preservation.

Anatevka, the fabled town from "Fiddler on the Roof" was a dot on the map in the Baltic region of eastern Europe that rested within the pre-Bolshevik revolution border of Lithuania. This region would be unrecognizable on today's maps, but Lithuania's boundaries actually touched the heart of western Russia and went as far west as mid-Poland: this region was better known as "The Pale." You have probably heard the expression, "beyond the pale" but not ever known where it originated. Now, you know.

The last czar of Russia, Nicholas II, was facing pressure of a possible revolt and much of the blame was cast on the Jewish population within Western Russia and Lithuania. In response, the Czar forced Jews into that region, where makeshift towns were erected and living conditions were barely sustainable. This wasn't far enough for the czar, though, and the pressure mounted against the Romanov monarch. Nicholas II sent his military to push them further west with demonstrations of violence that left entire families wiped out. These acts were better known as pogroms.

Many of these Jewish families had sought for a better life "beyond the Pale" and made their road westward, but they were not welcome in most European countries, and so westward they continued.

Boatload after boatload, they arrived at Ellis Island in such vast numbers that some ships were diverted to Cuba.

Why do I tell you this history?

That mass immigration was like nothing the United States had ever seen. These were refugees claiming asylum as a direct result of genocide, and most would have been pleased to have been accepted into the European nations that refused to take them, but were left with little choice but to continue to the one country that would. Us.

Today, there are thousands of "refugees" at our southern border, who set out from Central America to escape the "dire conditions" that plagued them, seeking a better life in a country that will not process them with any expediency.

I have been torn between two very convincing arguments that directly affect us, not just on a national level but locally as well.

Look around. Just about every minimum-wage employer in Carlton County is hiring. Do we have the manpower to fill this need?

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" ~ The Statue of Liberty

Immigration could certainly could be a means to solve a lack of workers. The U.S. recognized this during the industrial revolution. We needed to increase population to fill the positions of a growing economy and so we accepted immigrants with open arms. Should this be the case today?

There are similarities and differences between now and when my family left the Baltics over a century ago. We just pulled ourselves out of a long recession and have been enjoying a vibrant and growing economy that has been compared to the early part of the 20th century.

The United States was an emerging country then, that caught the eye of dreamers and opportunists alike. But today, our country has established superiority through our economy, military and global influence. Because of this, there has been a target on our back since the end of World War II.

Today is not the time for open borders. Open borders would be negligent and invite disaster. "Refugees" continue to arrive, seeking asylum for entry at our border. The right to seek asylum was intended for the likes of individuals and families that I described escaping the Pale, not a group of Central American citizens who are seeking a better economic life beyond their current circumstances.

I have no doubt that most of them want to come here and work, to live the American dream, but there is a process with which all nations are now acquainted - caution.

Our government is responsible for ensuring the national security of this nation along with its citizens; failing to do so is not only irresponsible but a dereliction of government's duty to uphold the Constitution that every elected official swears to protect.

To show up at our border and seek asylum - as opposed to applying for legal entry on economic grounds - is beyond the pale. It shows disrespect and grotesque perversion of the laws that govern this great country, and besmirches the memory of my family.

Cloquet resident and writer Uriah Wilkinson is a local political contributor and a history buff.