patrick.net

The most interesting aspect of the timing of the immigration acts seems to be that they were passed in 1921 and 1924, that is, 3 and 6 years after WW1 ended.

The screenshot below is from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/Annual-Number-of-US-Legal-Permanent-Residents

As you can see, there were two big spikes in legal immigration in 1921 and 1924, and it seems Congress responded swiftly.

The biggest spike of all (at least in absolute numbers, possibly not as a percentage of population) came in 1991, with 1.8M legal immigrants. My guess is that this spike was due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union ( end of the cold war). Probably mainly russian, and mainly jewish russians.

Btw, I agree that often the US has been a (often false) beacon of hope, but not very often a refuge for the oppressed. Only certain classes of oppressed people needed to apply.

Bernie Sanders certainly is not the only politician to make that faulty statement. Pretty much any member of congress, ever, would likely say the same. So no need to hold Bernie always to a higher standard than everyone else. Bernie is pretty saintly, but he is not a saint, yet.

justme says

1921 and 1924, and it seems Congress responded swiftly.

They responded swiftly to limit immigration from certain regions only.
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Proponents of the Act sought to establish a distinct American identity by favoring native-born Americans over Jews, Southern Europeans[who?], and Eastern Europeans[who?] in order to "maintain the racial preponderance of the basic strain on our people and thereby to stabilize the ethnic composition of the population".[9][10] Reed told the Senate that earlier legislation "disregards entirely those of us who are interested in keeping American stock up to the highest standard – that is, the people who were born here".[11] Southern/Eastern Europeans[who?] and Jews, he believed, arrived sick and starving and therefore less capable of contributing to the American economy, and unable to adapt to American culture.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924

It would be refreshing to hear Bernie mention the USA's history of racist and bigoted immigration laws, perhaps especially because he is Jewish. Instead, the usual bs. Perhaps of most interest is the fact there has never been federal legislation to limit immigration from south of the border, and yet immigration advocates complain the loudest about the rights of illegal immigrants from these regions.

Iraq has Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Personally, I think you guys are missing the bigger picture, which is that we are made up of immigrants. This is especially obvious when you compare us to a country like Japan, which has had a much more static population and a more singular cultural identity.

If you look at the graph by justme, you will see immigration rates of 200K to 1M over the years. Generally the # of immigrants has been growing (as has our population), and is now around 1M / year. It would be a huge shock for us to absorb say 10M syrian immigrants. I would even think that 1M would be a big shock considering they would all be coming from a particular location. However, Bernie was not talking about any new immigrants. It seems to me that he is saying we should avoid doing a repeat of the Elian Gonzalez incident on a scale of hundreds of families. Note that hundreds of families would not even be readable on justme's plot.

YesYNot says

Personally, I think you guys are missing the bigger picture, which is that we are made up of immigrants.

Yes, of course we are a nation of immigrants. But USA immigration law made it very difficult for folks fleeing the war (WW2) and its aftermath in southern and eastern Europe to seek refuge in the USA. I am merely asking that Bernie quit lying and tell the truth, and to also acknowledge that racism and bigotry inspired many US immigration laws.

Well, he was talking about raids on a few hundred families, right? He's not talking about Syrian immigrants in that link. The Syrian immigrants issue seems to more closely parallel the issue of people fleeing WWII.

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies

In a long tradition of “persecuting the refugee,” the State Department and FDR claimed that Jewish immigrants could threaten national security

World War II prompted the largest displacement of human beings the world has ever seen—although today's refugee crisis is starting to approach its unprecedented scale. But even with millions of European Jews displaced from their homes, the United States had a poor track record offering asylum. Most notoriously, in June 1939, the German ocean liner St. Louis and its 937 passengers, almost all Jewish, were turned away from the port of Miami, forcing the ship to return to Europe; more than a quarter died in the Holocaust.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewish-refugees-fearing-they-were-nazi-spies-180957324/?no-ist

Tell the truth, Bernie.

I've read the analogy between the Syrian refugees today, and the Jewish refugees from WWII. When I've read this comparison before, it was to make the Syrian refugees seem rather harmless. Considering that Einstein immigrated when Hitler came to power, you have a strong example of the benefits of such immigration. That many of those particular Jews were killed in the Holocaust seems to be an argument that we should have let them in.

YesYNot says

That many of those particular Jews were killed in the Holocaust seems to be an argument that we should have let them in.

Were there instances of Jewish Nazi spies during WW2? And I am merely asking Bernie and all politicians to quit lying and tell the truth so Americans can properly sort out the issues. I expect more from Bernie.

YesYNot says

Considering that Einstein immigrated when Hitler came to power, you have a strong example of the benefits of such immigration.

Okay, well if any Syrians split the atom, perhaps it will be different for them.

Oh and one forgets the original "immigration", when the Europeans came , conquered and took over the land from the natives.

Do we become the natives that are slaughtered and displaced into reservations-I don't think so.

YesYNot says

I've read the analogy between the Syrian refugees today, and the Jewish refugees from WWII. When I've read this comparison before, it was to make the Syrian refugees seem rather harmless. Considering that Einstein immigrated when Hitler came to power, you have a strong example of the benefits of such immigration. That many of those particular Jews were killed in the Holocaust seems to be an argument that we should have let them in.

Not too many Jews gunning down office co-workers in the name of Yahweh and the Torah.

mostly i like immigrants. lots of the tech people i work with in SF are immigrants, usually indian, chinese, or russian (both jewish and not). they do a good job and are a benefit to have here. of course we're skimming the cream off of the potential immigrant pool, but hey, we didn't make them come here. they wanted to.

justme says

Bernie is pretty saintly, but he is not a saint, yet.

Bernie is an idiot and a dolt, excuse me, I repeated myself. Allow me to make it clearer, he doesn't have a clue and can't buy a vowel, outside of that he's not very smart.

thunderlips11 says

Not too many Jews gunning down office co-workers in the name of Yahweh and the Torah.

They just aren't making the headlines because they don't line up with dribble that main-stream media is trying to sell to the masses. Just ask Gary, he knows.

This sums up Bernie

Although to be fair, I'll include this one too.

Oh here is a fool who predicted in October that Trump would be done by December and he was eagerly awaiting for December to come, so he won't have to deal with trump!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffwald/the-five-reasons-that-the_b_8230294.html?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_716040&ncid=txtlnkusaolp00001378