We're still an immigrant nation

Americans lit the first birthday candle on its national cake 249 years ago when it declared its independence from the British monarchy.

We went to war to secure that independence and by 1789, the Constitution was completed. It was a flawed document that has needed some amendments along the way to create a "more perfect Union."

A central tenet has remained. We were a nation created by people who fled other countries, came here in search of opportunity and the "pursuit of happiness." That mission is underway at this very minute.

Let us never forget that essential truth about the United States of America. We were built by immigrants. Our nation has continued to thrive and prosper largely because of immigrants who came along later.

I am the direct descendant of immigrants. They came here from southern Greece and from Turkey. They did it legally. They had all the documentation required of them. They settled eventually in Portland, Ore. My grandparents all were proud Americans. They chose to live here. They weren't blessed with being born here. One of my grandfathers, my Papou George, enlisted in the U.S. Army because he wanted to fight for his new country in World War I. They all came here in search of a good life ... and they found it.

I understand and accept the current administration's desire to crack down on illegal immigration. What I cannot accept is the brutish tactics being used to separate families, to deport individuals who have committed no crimes. I cannot accept the description being muttered out loud that immigrants in general have soiled our national identity.

All of this is fundamentlly ani-American. It goes against the very principles our founders used to create what would become the greatest nation on Earth.

Let us never forget -- and may we always honor -- our national history of welcoming immigrants to our land. Our immigrant heritage clearly is worth celebrating as we honor the birth of the world's most indispensable nation.