Friendliest Country to Migrants

I was very saddened last week when I read the opinion of columnist Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post (11/4/22): “The United States is no longer the world’s friendliest country to migrants.”

He writes from his experience, research and travels around the world. He had been convinced to the contrary when he came, as an immigrant college student, who both looked different, with brown skin and a strange name. But he had believed that America was the best place for people like himself, until in 2019, he read Sajid Javid’s shocking words: “Britain is the most successful multicultural democracy in the world,” and more recently the words by Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister, whose studies revealed that rather than becoming better at welcoming the stranger, the U.S. had fallen lower on the totem pole measuring the rise of other countries by comparison. It is easier to get a green card, says Zakaria, in Canada, Britain, Ireland and Sweden than in our country!

Does this statistic sadden you, too? What can we do to change ourselves? We, who have so many advantages to interest migrants looking for jobs, an open market, and even assistance in setting up small businesses for those so inclined.

Why do we lag behind? What can I/we do to change the status quo?

Renée Domeier, OSB

Photo: Sister Renée Domeier welcoming a Hispanic family to the monastery