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Letter: America’s stature as the land of immigrants is being destroyed. It’s time to amend our great symbols and return the Statue of Liberty.

FILE - In this June 29, 1954, file photo, the Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor as the ocean liner Queen Mary goes past as seen from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. (AP Photo/File)

Since regaining power, Donald Trump and his chief advisor Stephen Miller have been on a crusade to remove nonwhite immigrants from the U.S. whether they’re legal residents or not.

This new policy flies in the face of 250 years of U.S. history. Indeed, during all this time the United States has bragged about being “a land of immigrants.” All of us (other than Native Americans) have ancestors who were immigrants. In fact, we have long taken pride in being “a melting pot,” a refuge for those escaping oppression or extreme poverty back home.

Since our longstanding policy is now inoperative, I think we should remove all its symbols as well. In particular, we should:

• Remove our national motto, “E pluribus unum” (“one out of many”), from our currency and the Great Seal;

• Remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, since God is not a racist;

• Remove the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . .”;

• In fact, send the entire statue back to France, since today’s America is no longer a “Land of Liberty.”

Tom Huckin, Salt Lake City

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