Letter on 'The New Colossus'

Dear Mrs. Harrison, I have written a sonnet for the Bartholdi pedestal fund. It speaks of the statue not as a symbol of liberty enlightening the world, but as a mother welcoming the homeless and tempest-tossed to our shores. You asked why I would contribute to this project when I have been so focused on the plight of the Russian Jews. But it is precisely because of my work with the refugees that this statue means so much to me. I have seen their faces as they arrive in this harbor - the hope, the fear, the exhaustion of their long journey. To them, this great lady lifting her lamp will be the first thing they see of their new homeland. The poem came to me quickly, as if it had been waiting to be written. I called her the 'Mother of Exiles' because that is what America must be - not merely a nation of commerce and power, but a refuge for those fleeing persecution and poverty. I wrote: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' These are the people I have met at Ward's Island, the immigrants with nothing but hope and determination. They will build this nation as surely as any native-born citizen. I hope the poem serves the cause. More importantly, I hope America lives up to the promise these words proclaim. Your friend, Emma Lazarus