Dear Friend of the Washington Lawyers' Committee,

President John Kennedy was, throughout his political life, an ardent advocate for reform of discriminatory immigration policy. In his final book—A Nation of Immigrants—published after his assassination, he described the painful history of unfair and unjust immigration practices and wrote words that are as true today as in the 1960s when he wrote them:

“The famous words of Emma Lazarus on the pedestal of the Statute of Liberty read: ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ Until 1921 this was an accurate picture of our society. Under present law it would be appropriate to add: ‘as long as they come from Northern Europe, are not too tired or too poor or slightly ill, never stole a loaf of bread, never joined any questionable organization, and can document their activities from the past two years.’”

This month, we report on our work to create justice in the immigration system.

Jon Smith
Executive Director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee