Give VOICE to the Victims Of ICE
In 1939, the MS St. Louis sailed from Germany to Florida with over 900 Jewish refugees. Because of fears not unlike those stoked by Trump today, the ship was turned away mere yards from freedom. Despite the heroic efforts of the ship's captain, 620 Jewish passengers were returned to continental Europe. As with the Syrian refugees in squalid camps throughout the mid-East, the passengers of the St. Louis were unable to escape the horrors of the conflict. The leaders of the world at the time, including our President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, were unwilling to take the risk of allowing non-Christians and potential spies into the country. Does this sound familiar?
Two Hundred and Fifty Four souls died at the hands of the Nazi's as a result.
Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tears apart families and separates parents from their children without reasonable cause. As soon as we establish the necessary internal processes and controls for the publishing of immigrant and refugee stories, we will utilize this space to draw attention to the Victims Of ICE.
As a placeholder for future stories, our image of Charlie Chaplin reflects the politically motivated, xenophobic, and hateful immigration policies which have so often bedeviled the United States. In Chaplin's case, he used his voice to draw attention to societies troubles. In response, the Government actively sought to destroy his life and his reputation.
In 1952, Representative John Rankin of Mississippi told the House of Representatives:
I am here today demanding that Attorney General Tom Clark institute proceedings to deport Charlie Chaplin. His very life in Hollywood is detrimental to the moral fabric of America. In that way, he can be kept off the American screen and his loathsome pictures can be kept from before the eyes of the American youth. He should be deported and gotten rid of at once.
Because he spoke of reason and truth, Charlie Chaplin was expelled from the United States in 1952.