When immigrants’ rights are threatened, democracy is too

When immigrants’ rights are threatened, democracy is too

When I think of democracy, I picture the Statue of Liberty, her torch lit, arm outstretched, for those who seek the protections offered in the Constitution—of speech, religion, and the press. By respecting these freedoms, the government holds itself accountable to the people it governs. But a democracy is not merely a static set of rules; it is a living system. And immigrants — the “huddled masses” Emma Lazarus wrote of in “The New Colossus” — h…