When immigration policy was not a poem

In1883 Emma Lazarus wrote, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” the national debt was about $2 million, Chester Arthur was president, there was no income tax, CNN didn’t exist, the major shareholder of The New York Times wasn’t Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, and U.S. immigration policy wasn’t a poem studied by school children.

This story was originally published August 10, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "When immigration policy was not a poem."