The Hope of America

“Indeed, without the important contributions immigrants have made to our country, the United States would not exist as we know it today.

In my home state of Colorado, the first non-natives to explore our lands were the Spanish. They arrived nearly 500 years ago, and left their mark on the American Southwest and Colorado. Their presence is reflected in the names of my state and its cities, rivers, and mountains, and even in the food we eat.

More recently, immigrants came to Colorado to farm and ranch, to mine our state’s abundant natural resources, build the railroads, and forge steel. They came, and continue to come, out of desperation, but also out of hope—the hope of America.”

- Colorado Senator Ken Salazar



From Emma Lazarus’ great poem, “The New Colossus,” inscribed at the foot of the Statue Liberty. . .

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!