News/Commentary

AOC-world twisted ‘fact’ #302: Immigrants pouring into NYC is nothing compared to Ellis Island numbers

September 27, 2023 | | Print Article

The Democrat Party’s resident know-nothing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has once again said something stupid.

In an Instagram video posted this week, she drew an equivalence between the throngs of illegal aliens currently flooding New York City and the millions of immigrants who passed through NYC between 1892 and 1954.

Listen:

“The numbers of when it comes to people coming to New York City today are nothing — I’m telling you, nothing — compared to the daily amounts of people that we saw coming in through Ellis Island through the first half of this century,” she said.

“We’re seeing more than 12 million immigrants that passed through Ellis Island through 1892 and 1954. And we had seen huge numbers of people coming in per day that far eclipsed what we’re seeing right now,” she added.

First of all, she meant the 20th century, not “this century.” That’s mistake number one.

Secondly, there are a number of huge differences between the illegal aliens arriving in NYC today and the immigrants who arrived there in the 1800s and 1900s.

For example, while it’s true that 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954, that’s a span of 62 years. Conversely, nearly three million illegal aliens crossed into the U.S. in 2022 alone.

Also, the immigrants who arrived in the 20th century did so legally and at a time when America was full of open space and desperate for more people.

The illegals streaming across the border now are coming illegally and at a time when America is already overburdened with problems galore.

Moreover, modern-day illegals are being allowed into the U.S. all willy-nilly despite the majority ultimately not qualifying for asylum. To earn entry, on the other hand, the immigrants of the 19th and 20th century had to pass a number of tests.

“Immigrants in the early 1900s were examined for physical and mental illness, questioned about their ability to support themselves financially, and challenged on whether they held radical views,” Smithsonian magazine notes.

Meanwhile, illegal aliens don’t even have to pass a COVID test.

Because the immigrants of the 19th and 20th century had to prove their worth to gain entry into the U.S., they were mostly self-sufficient and thus posed no resource burden on the communities where they chose to settle down.

The same cannot be said of present-day illegals. Most of them lack lack money, skills, etc., so upon their arrival, they need access to free housing, food, medical services, etc.

Or as one critic put it on Twitter, “The people who came through Ellis Island did not require U.S Taxpayer hotels and food! They stood on their two feet and made it on their own! They did not cross the border Illegally looking for free housing, food and medical!”

Lastly, even 20th-century immigration eventually became too much to bear, resulting in the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. According to the State Department, the bill “limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota.”

Now just imagine the outrage that would erupt were a modern-day Republican to suggest that a quota be imposed on illegal migration …

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles