Deporting our Souls Quotes

“The experiment that we call America is a test of our character and
our willingness to believe that we can have a strong country that is caring
and diverse. Showing compassion and fairness in our immigration policies
is not a sign of weakness. Rather, those traits demonstrate a confidence
in a rule of law and system of government that metes out punishment
when necessary but understands that regulating the lives of those who
seek to live within our borders must be done with the utmost compassion,
dignity, and understanding. As in previous generations, there is much
to admire about individuals who come to our shores seeking freedom
and a better life. Whether they are fleeing persecution or entering to
seek work in order to better their lives, the newcomers of today are not
much different from those of the past. Once here, welcoming newcomers
and understanding the challenges that they will be facing are imperative.”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy

“Once demonized, the immigrant can be dehumanized. Dehumanization
commodifies the immigrants. The immigrant-as-commodity is not
precious. Rather, the immigrants-as-commodities are likened to “hazardous
waste dumps.”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy

“Whenever we go through a period of
de-Americanization like what is currently affecting South Asians, Arabs,
and Muslim Americans, a whole generation of Americans sees the following:
that exclusion and hate are acceptable, that the definition of who is
an American can be narrow, and that they too have a license to profile.
Their license is issued when others around them engage in hate, and the
government engages in its own profiling. This is one regrettable process
of racism that haunts our country.”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy

“Reaching out to immigrants promotes national security. Following the
July 7, 2005, London subway suicide bombings by British-born Muslim
terrorists, Boris Johnson, a member of Parliament, noted that Americans
did not grow their own suicide bombers, giving credit to Americans
for acculturating its immigrants.”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy

“A careful analysis of the September 11th attacks
reveals that deficiencies in U.S. intelligence collection and information
sharing, not immigration laws, prevented the terrorists’ plans from being
discovered”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy

“Doing the right thing requires us to humanize the guestworker upon
whom we have come to rely. Thus, establishing a worker program must
be done in a manner that provides the workers with hope for membership
and respect from other Americans. A path toward legalization becomes
a critical ingredient of any guestworker program. Only through that path
can these individuals attain a sense of enfranchisement and freedom
from political subjugation and servitude.”
― Bill Ong Hing, Deporting our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy