Is our golden door now tarnished?

To the editor:
As a young man, proudly wearing the dress blues of a United States Navy sailor, I took a trip.
The destination?
A beautiful lady in a harbor.
We had just returned from a global circumnavigation world cruise.
After disembarking from the massive aircraft carrier in Philadelphia, I took my mother and two others from Indiana to see Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, The World Trade Center and finally The Statue Of Liberty. On a plaque on her pedestal was the following ... “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!”
It’s irony personified during this season set aside to specifically give thanks, that many see fit to deny this promise.
Yes, I served in uniform in the Middle East, and I fully understand the plight of the less fortunate far better than most who have never seen it firsthand. This year as you give thanks in prayer for your bountiful table, say a prayer for your hardened heart that so willingly would deny this promise to refugees.
Last I checked, we are a nation of refugees. We are the golden door.
Is our door still open? Is it still golden?
Good questions for this season of thanksgiving indeed.
Denying the promise would be a disservice that countless thousands in uniform have served and died to defend, this humble U.S. Navy carrier sailor included.
Sincerely,
James D. Fulks III
Dunkirk