From the letters the AJC refuses to publish department : Here is one from our friend Paul Nachman in response to a letter that did see print at the AJC. ( as far as I can tell, I am blacklisted from the Opinion page of the AJC. It has happened before)

Editor:

Letter writer Caroline Knight must think the “Statue of Liberty” invites all disadvantaged people to move here. But the statue’s actual name is “Liberty Enlightening the World,” and it has nothing to do with immigration. Instead, it highlights the ordered liberty of American society as a worthy example for the world.

And the famous sonnet about “poor, huddled masses” isn’t part of the statue. It was attached to the pedestal years later without anyone’s permission, including that of citizens who’d have to make room for those masses.

Regarding Knight’s concern that America can’t survive “without an unskilled labor force,” we already have such an abundance of native-born high-school dropouts that 30% of them are unemployed.

Ed; My “30% unemployed” figure comes from the second bullet point in the executive summary of this report.

Here’s the letter to which I’m responding: (below- dak)

Paul Nachman
Bozeman, Montana

Statue of Liberty, broken legal system at odds

Regarding “Those urging reform don’t live near problem” (“Readers write,” Opinion, July 12): while the writer may claim he “did not invite any illegals to this country,” the Statue of Liberty clearly states: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …”

Immigration restrictions put in place during the latter part of the 20th century meant that the only way the poor, huddled masses could enter this country was illegally. The immigration system is clearly broken. A nation cannot survive without an unskilled labor force. If we no longer believe in the principles inscribed at the Statue of Liberty, perhaps we should just give her back to France.

Caroline Knight, Atlanta