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Adelstein: Refugees Become Patriots, Public Servants

Former legislator Stan Adelstein, a sponsor of this blog, reminds us that refugees provide great service to the country that welcomes them. In this case, the refugee in question is the mother of Adelstein’s children:

75 years ago my  children’s mother arrived on the last refugee ship from Europe in New York City, after fleeing for 18 months.  Her parents, herself and brother and sister were barred by a quota – not very different from a quota now proposed.

…Two of her two sons, born in freedom, committed their careers two public service.  Her oldest, a West Point graduate, Special Forces Lt. Col. and senior staffer for Sen. Mike Rounds; her youngest a Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission, as well as director of the Rural Utilities Service.  Two US SD US Senators, of different parties told me that they were the most effective and committed members of their staff.

Who might be those gifted servants of America, never to be born, because their mother was not permitted to enter this promised land of freedom [Stanford Adelstein, “A Mother’s Day Tribute to a Refugee Mother,” A Way to Go, 2017.05.09].

3 Comments

  1. Jenny

    Adelstein is on of the few SD ‘pubs that has a conscience.
    SD Catholics are a bunch of hypocrites that don’t follow yet another one of their Social Teachings. You openly accept refugees because ALL LIVES ARE SACRED.

  2. Jenny, keep at it. The top Catholic appears to be on your side:

    Addressing participants at the Sixth International Forum on Migration and Peace taking place in Rome on Feb. 21 to 22, the pope said it is a “moral imperative” to protect migrant workers “and among these particularly men and women in irregular situations” as well as those “exiled and seeking asylum” or “victims of trafficking.”

    Moreover, he said, “defending their inalienable rights, ensuring their fundamental freedoms and respecting their dignity are duties from which no one can be exempted”[Gerald O’Connell, “Pope Francis: Protecting the World’s Migrants and Refugees Is a Moral Imperative,” America, 2017.02.21].

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