America at 250: A Promise Worth Keeping

250 years ago, America’s founding fathers declared that all people are created equal. It was a promise never realized, written by political leaders who did not intend to extend it to everyone. That promise was broken from the start, made within a society that was simultaneously enslaving millions of Africans, displacing Indigenous nations, and building a political order that was as much about exclusion as it was about life and liberty. And yet, it has never disappeared.

American history is, in large part, the story of people demanding that both freedom and equality are achievable realities, even as the definition of who belongs expands, narrows, is denied, and reasserted across generations. In moments, it has been the story of radical welcome, as new communities were offered a chance at safety for themselves, their children, and later generations. And in other moments, it has been the story of institutions unevenly and often reluctantly being forced to reckon with change and to expand the boundaries of American identity.

At HIAS, we are proud of our role in this story. For well over half of the history of this country, our organization has been at the docks, at the airports, and in communities to welcome millions of new Americans who fled violence and persecution and arrived with hope in their hearts for a chance at a new beginning. Throughout many generations, we welcomed immigrants and refugees from around the world and they in turn, made this country great.

The uniqueness of our country comes from that diversity and from the stories of how people arrived and integrated into it. Africans who were brought here in chains, forced to labor for a country that would deny their freedom and humanity in every generation. Irish immigrants fleeing famine who arrived into conditions of suspicion and exploitation. Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad and were later the first immigrant group to be excluded by law from entering the country at all. Mexican workers who sustained American agriculture and infrastructure for generations while simultaneously being actively pushed out of the national identity. Jewish refugees who arrived through Ellis Island seeking safety, only to encounter quotas and restrictions that limited entry even as fascism rose in Europe. Afghan refugees who arrived in recent years after decades of war shaped in part by American decisions themselves.

These are not separate histories, but rather a braided narrative of movement, of arrival, of tension and exclusion, of struggles for recognition, of fights for freedom, of communities welcoming newcomers, of newcomers shaping communities, of rejection, of acceptance, and of redefinition.

The descendants of those once viewed with suspicion now serve in Congress, command our armed forces, lead businesses and universities, make scientific breakthroughs, create great works of art, and raise the next generation of Americans. Time and again, those once denied belonging have gone on to redefine what America is and to strengthen it.

Today, the political conversations have intensified. A small but powerful minority feels threatened by demographic changes, and is using the language of exclusion and the tools of the state to deport people, to jail them, and to force them into hiding. Once a country that set a global standard for welcome and opportunity, the U.S. has quickly become a country associated with rejection and exclusion.

But this year, we have the same opportunity to welcome, the same choice that Americans faced for 250 years. We must stand in solidarity with our neighbors and to fight for the future of a country that is most defined by its diversity.

Now is not a time for complacency. It is a time for protest and activism, for supporting our neighbors. At HIAS, we see this every day through the synagogues providing food and care for immigrants in their communities, the volunteers protecting their neighbors from ICE, the lawyers volunteering their time to help with paperwork, the advocates making sure their elected officials know what is at stake. HIAS has embraced this fight as we serve thousands of immigrants whose lives have been plunged into fear and instability by the Trump administration, as we fight the harmful policies in the court, in congress, and in the public sphere.

This fall, the midterm elections will offer an opportunity to stand for our values and to insist on policies that protect immigrants, refugees, Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ+ people and others who are currently marginalized and endangered. We must elect candidates who understand that immigration is not a problem to be solved, it is a blessing and opportunity to be embraced, just as it was in previous generations.

In a moment when each passing headline is a cause for despair, it is the stories of Americans who fought for the promise of equality, throughout 250 years of history, that can give us direction and hope. That history marches forward and so must each of us.