Statue of Liberty and immigration

A top Trump administration official says that the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country is about “people coming from Europe” and that America is looking to receive migrants “who can stand on their own two feet.”

Section:Gallery

Wed., Aug. 14, 2019

In this July 3, 2007, photo, the Statue of Liberty stands at sunset in New York. The Statue of Liberty is at the center of a national debate on immigration after a top Trump administration official offered the president’s own interpretation of the famous inscription that has welcomed immigrants to the United States for more than a century.

Seth Wenig Associated Press
In this June 2, 2009, photo, the Statue of Liberty stands in New York harbor.

Richard Drew Associated Press
In this July 31, 2015, photo, a blue moon rises behind the torch of the Statue of Liberty seen from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. A blue moon happens when the moon rises in its full stage twice during the same month.

Julio Cortez Associated Press
This Oct. 7, 2014, photo, shows the Statue of Liberty during a visit by President Barack Obama, in New York.

Evan Vucci Associated Press
In this Oct. 13, 2013, photo, the Statue of Liberty looms over a visitor as he uses binoculars to look out onto New York Harbor in New York.

John Minchillo Associated Press
In this July 29, 2010, photo, with the Statue of Liberty behind them, a coalition of immigrant groups and their supporters march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Seth Wenig Associated Press
In this Nov. 14, 1995, photo, Sonja Kuhnelt of Germany peers out a ferry window at the Statue of Liberty as a small group of visitors wait on the dock to board the vessel.

Adam Nadel Associated Press
In this Dec. 17, 1985, photo, workers remove scaffolding from the Statue of Liberty, in New York.

Mario Cabrera Associated Press
In this Oct. 28, 1956, photo, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Roerich from Bavaria, Germany, look out from the stern of the USNS General Langfitt anchored in New York Harbor carrying over a 1,000 refugees from Europe. In the background is the Statue of Liberty. The couple planned to settle in Ohio.
In this undated photo, a group of immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island in New York wait in line to begin immigration proceedings. Ellis Island, the former immigration inspection station, is adjacent to the Statue of Liberty.
In this June 29, 1954, photo, the Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor as the ocean liner Queen Mary goes past as seen from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
This undated image shows American poet Emma Lazarus, who wrote the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” in 1883, one year after Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned laborers from China. Long before a Trump administration official suggested the poem welcomed only people from Europe, the words captured America’s promise to newcomers at a time when the nation was also seeking to exclude many immigrants from landing on its shores.
This circa 1950 photo shows a bronze plaque of the poem by Emma Lazurus on the Statue of Liberty in New York. Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” in 1883, one year after Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned laborers from China. Long before a Trump administration official suggested the poem welcomed only people from Europe, the words captured America’s promise to newcomers at a time when the nation was also seeking to exclude many immigrants from landing on its shores.