“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-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” — Emma Lazarus
Forget this sentimental bullshit. If you’re the poor, tired, homeless, wretched refuse of some distant teeming shore, your chances of getting into the U.S. are zilch, unless you have computer skills (e.g., acquired by working for Nigerian scammers).
Nowadays, hip foreigners who want to live in the United States pay for the privilege under a stupid federal program that flings our country’s doors open to any huddled masses worth at least $500,000. Bangladeshi shipyard workers earning $1 a day for performing dirty and dangerous manual labor needn’t bother to apply for a better life here.
This program, besides selling special privileges to the foreign rich, has downsides. For example, that smiling Tibetan entrepreneur may be stealing your money to pay for his mansion and luxury cars. The program also encourages these foreigners to invest in such useless enterprises as sports stadiums, presumably so local taxpayers don’t have to.
Contrary to popular belief, the American Dream isn’t dead. It’s for sale.
Photos: (Top) Stadium built with green card money; (right above) shipyard workers in Bangladesh