Immigrants for President

WHEN President Bush spoke at Ellis Island on July 10, his speech was full of patriotic boilerplate: “America at its best is a welcoming society.” It was a ho-hum address that just about any president might have given. Praising America’s immigrant tradition in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty is like making nice with farmers at the county fair: a job requirement for public officials.

Buried in Bush’s remarks, however, was a comment that deserved notice. A group of immigrants were taking the oath of citizenship that day, the final step in their naturalization. “This is one of the things that makes our country so unique,” said Bush. “With a single oath, all at once you become as fully American as the most direct descendant of a Founding Father.”

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.

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WHEN President Bush spoke at Ellis Island on July 10, his speech was full of patriotic boilerplate: “America at its best is a welcoming society.” It was a ho-hum address that just about any president might have given. Praising America’s immigrant tradition in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty is like making nice with farmers at the county fair: a job requirement for public officials.

Buried in Bush’s remarks, however, was a comment that deserved notice. A group of immigrants were taking the oath of citizenship that day, the final step in their naturalization. “This is one of the things that makes our country so unique,” said Bush. “With a single oath, all at once you become as fully American as the most direct descendant of a Founding Father.”

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.