New York City
– Officials at HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, are alarmed and
outraged by Rep. Virgil Goode’s (R-Va.) recent remarks regarding
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) desire to use the Koran at his private swearing-in ceremony.  In a constituent letter, Rep. Goode cited Rep. Ellison’s choice to be sworn in with the Koran as an example why America should restrict immigration.

“Despite the fact that Congressman Ellison is a native-born American
citizen who was raised Catholic and later converted to Islam,
Congressman Goode blames immigration for causing the demise of American
values,” says Gideon Aronoff, president and CEO of HIAS. “This is a
transparent conflation of unrelated facts and ethnic and religious
stereotypes, and amounts to an attack of core American values.  It’s
very sad.” 

“We are keenly aware,” says Aronoff, “that America’s immigration
system is indeed broken, as evidenced by the millions of undocumented
immigrants living and working in the shadows of American society.” Yet
immigration policy can be crafted, he asserts, to serve America’s
interests and values by creating a safe, secure, and humane immigration
system, “and not, as Congressman Goode’s approach suggests, by closing
off America’s borders to immigrants of specific races, nationalities
and religious beliefs.”

For years HIAS has been at the forefront of advocating that
America’s values and interests can and should be preserved through
comprehensive reform that:  establishes more realistic and generous
immigration policies that meet the needs of employers, workers, and
families; employs border protection policies that are targeted and
effective while also consistent with American humanitarian values;
provides a rational and reasonable way for undocumented immigrants
living in the U.S. to come out of the shadows and become full and
productive members of society; and promotes citizenship and the
integration of newcomers. 

In the letter, Rep. Goode expressed his fear “that in the next
century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do
not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary
to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of
America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.”

Aronoff counters Rep. Goode’s alarmist tone: “America is in fact
made strong by its values of religious freedom, tolerance and
diversity. We have a long and proud tradition of welcoming newcomers,
and that tradition is bolstered by the many contributions that
immigrants have made to our country over our history. To suggest that
America should close its borders to Muslims, or to other groups of
immigrants undermines the very principles upon which this nation is
built.”

“Congressman Goode’s remarks also ignore the fact that nearly all
Americans are immigrants or are the descendants of immigrants who came
to this country seeking freedom and opportunity. To deny our history
and conjure fear of others does nothing to ‘preserve the values and
beliefs traditional to the United States of America,’ but instead flies
in the face of those very values and beliefs that we all hold so dear.”