Refugees and immigration

Anyone who is even semi-conscious is aware of the refugee situation that is happening in Europe.  

In 2015 Sweden has taken in 10,000 unaccompanied children.  

In the past week, 6,500 refugees (of all ages) have arrived. 

(source: http://www.thelocal.se/)  I am impressed with the Swedish attitude toward these people who are, as I understand it, running for their lives. 

I was in our central train station on September 10th.  It was crowded with immigrants and immigration police.  There were also volunteers distributing water bottles and fruit.  

The concept of immigration is not new to Americans.  All my grandparents were born in Europe.  In the United States, if you ask Americans about nationality, you are typically not asking if they are American citizens, but rather are asking about their ethnic heritage. 

To learn a little more about immigration in the United States, here are a few sites  This is, of course, the tip of the proverbial iceberg on this subject.

• Immigration 1789-1930  (Harvard University) http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/timeline.html

• Scandinavia to U.S. immigration 1789-1930 (Harvard University) http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/scandinavian.html

• And just to give more current news: Specifically regarding refugees and asylees in the U.S. in 2013 (U.S. Dept of Homeland Security)  http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_rfa_fr_2013.pdf

•  From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America's largest and most active immigration station, where over 12 million immigrants were processed.  I have visited Ellis Island and it tells of wonderful, inspiring, and heart-breaking stories. It was especially interesting and personal to me as my father, at age 12, passed through Ellis Island with his family in ~ 1935.  They were returning to the U.S. after spending 7 years back in Poland. http://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/index.htm