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| My parents' wedding day - August 31, 1941 Standing: My parents, Joseph and Ruth (Glazer) Karol Seated: My father's parents Anna Wolf Karol, Mendel Karol, My mother's mother, Pearl Glazer |
Anna
Karol was naturalized on September 22, 1941, a few weeks after my parents’
wedding. She was among the millions of residents of the United States
required to register in compliance with the Alien Registration Act of 1940.
That act established a program to fingerprint and create a record of every
non-citizen within the United States. This legislation explicitly
declared, as one of its purposes, to prohibit “certain subversive
activities.” It became known as the “Smith Act” because Virginia
Representative Howard W. Smith authored the Act’s anti-Sedition
section. So, my grandmother likely had to tell a local registration
officer a few things sometime late in 1940. She had to report that she had
hazel eyes and gray hair and that she was from Nowogrodek, Russia in the
district of Minsk. And she had to
declare that she had not “been affiliated with or active in organizations,
devoted in whole or in part to influencing or further the political activities,
public relations, or public policy of a foreign government.” I
admire the fact that my grandmother would even think of becoming a naturalized
citizen following that experience! After many years of operating a dry
goods store (which closed on January 7, 1939), I am sure that she had nothing
to hide!
These
documents reminded me that my grandparents were, at one time, strangers in this
country, and that officially becoming an American was part of a long process of
acculturation. They both became citizens when quotas had been
established within the immigration acts of 1921 and 1924 that applied to anyone
trying to enter the United States from that time on. Those laws all-too-effectively prevented the
entry of many people who would likely have added to the quality and character
of our nation. Quotas likely
originated, at least in part, out of fear of the stranger or foreigner. Those limitations were imposed several years
before the Great Depression, so the rationale for those rules may not have been
based in economic concerns, If today’s
laws had been in force between 1900 and 1910, I assure you that my grandparents
would not have been allowed into the United States and I would not be sitting
here.
Because of the experiences of my grandparents, I cannot help but be moved by
the stories of the many people who come to the United States to escape threats
to their personal safety back home or to make a better life. Residents of the United States who want to be
citizens of our country should readily have the opportunity to make that
happen. Refugees who are leaving war
torn areas go through levels of vetting that some of us might not be able to
pass. I am proud of the work of groups
like HIAS, know originally as the Hebrew
Immigrant Aid Society, that is providing for protection and resettlement of
people seeking a peaceful life in a variety of nations, including ours.
I understand the sense of caution with
which some Americans approach the issue of immigration, but only up to a
point. I believe that we are enriched by the diversity
of our national population and by the skills and wisdom and that that people
from many different places bring to our society.
As a rabbi and a grandson of Jewish
immigrants, Leviticus Chapter 19, verses 33 and 34, strongly resonate with
me: “When a stranger resides with you in
your land, you shall not wrong him or her.
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your
citizens, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
I
am grateful that my grandparents had the courage to make a change in their
lives and come to the United States. What I hope is that the land
that they envisioned, a nation that is welcoming to all who want to enjoy the
benefits of citizenship, is always within our reach.
