Standing in the kitchen of a rehabbed Manhattan tenement, a tour guide at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum tells visitors the story of the Baldizzis, a Sicilian-Catholic family who lived in the building from 1928 to 1935. Amid typical anecdotes of self-help in hard times, the guide discusses aspects of the immigrant family’s experience that are usually glossed over in… return to article
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Reader Comments (2)Page 1 of 1 pagesThis year is 1928, after Congress repealed, rightly or wrongly, essentially open immigration. The relevancy of the article is dubious.
Nice people can be illegal aliens. Of course they can be. That is not why nations regulate borders and immigration. The implication of publication of the article is that this family turned out to be a great addition to america, so all illegal immigrants should be let in.Absurd. A systematic policy is required to allow immigration. we don’t have that now. we have the right to decide that some people are wanted and others aren’t. nice people will thus be excluded. the naiton also has to be ready to deport illegally residing people. the nation needs to be prepared to severely punish employers who break the law.
If we can’t agree on who immigrates, then no immigration at all until we decide. I think the value of many immigrants would pressure us into fair, enforceable regulations.
Posted by edith on Oct 22, 2006 at 4:09 PM Technically we are all immigrants. Even the “Native Americans”. Pre-Siberian American Aborigines were the first “Americans” . I am glad someone is preserving historical sites. I wonder if a comparison between the tenements and the type of housing the people had lived in before immigration to America is offered? It would offer a historical perspective most museums would be afraid to show for fear of offending someone.
We put the Statue of Liberty up and complain when people take us up on the offer. Walls will never work to keep people out, but we need to know who we invite in. Guest worker programs have worked in other countries. It allows legal protection for the workers but still provides taxes and security for citizens. If someone wants citizenship follow the legal path. Democracy works.
Posted by texasindependent on Oct 23, 2006 at 1:55 AM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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The Lower Eastside Tenement Museum in New York City is a founding member of the International Coalition of Historic Sites of Conscience.
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