Is It Time to Retire the Statue of Liberty?

This day (the American Fourth of July holiday) has us thinking more about liberty in America than obesity. So, as we read current news reports and think about the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, we cannot help wondering if it isn’t time to retire this relic. These words currently land with a thud:

“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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside
the golden door!”

Alligators?

Just a few days ago our President went to open a prison dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” for immigrants in a Florida swamp. He smiled and told reporters about the danger of alligators that would surround immigrants placed there:

“Snakes are fast but alligators ‒ we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator. Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this [in a zig-zag motion].”

Reading a steady stream of reports describing brutal treatment for immigrants leaves us thinking that the quaint words on the Statue of liberty might not be an accurate representation of current U.S. policy.

Click here for more about the Statue of Liberty.

Statue of Liberty, linocut by Rachael Robinson Elmer / WikiArt

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July 4, 2025