那時的美國是歡迎移民的。自由女神像的台基上這樣刻著：把無家可歸，顛簸流離的人， 把他們交給我， 我在這金門之側舉燈相迎！

"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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"