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Sarah Ivory: Welcoming newcomers is what makes America exceptional

We are a nation founded not along boundaries and ethnic lines, but on ideals. It is this, more than anything, that makes us exceptional. Throughout history our diversity — of people, of ideas, of cultures, of geography — has been our greatest strength. Our nation has been moved forward at every turn by people who have left what they know in order to create a better future in this country.

The story of migration for the United States is inextricably bound to our story of progress. The choices we make today about how we treat our nation’s newest members could change the course of our history.