Acting on immigration as difficult as accessing Lady Liberty's crown

hernandontoday.com ^ | 05/26/07 | Marsha Mercer

[TornadoAlley3]

WASHINGTON — Section 776 of the immigration bill is obscure, to say the least. Senators aren’t debating it, bloggers aren’t railing about it and chatterers aren’t fulminating over the provision tucked in “Subtitle F — Other Matters” under “Title III — Miscellan-eous” of the mammoth bill.

So here’s the story behind one little paragraph in a sweeping bill that could change the way America welcomes immigrants in the 21st Century.

The Statue of Liberty has symbolized hope for waves of newcomers — tired, poor, huddled, yearning to breathe free and start a new life.

Section 776 literally would reopen the statue’s crown, which has been closed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. How’s that for a metaphor for the new normal?

As Congress weighs tightening border security and seeking immigrants who have a better education and job skills, it also will decide whether to permit visitors to trudge once again to the top of the premier symbol of American hope.

The matter of the crown lacks the economic import of picking the right number of guest workers. It isn’t as emotionally laden as how to cope with 12 million immigrants here illegally. But as metaphor or practical matter, it illustrates why getting to act on immigration is so hard. Nothing in the “Comprehensive Immig-ration Reform Act of 2007” is simple.

A bit of history: The Statue of Liberty was a gift in 1886 from the people of France to commemorate our friendship during the Revolutionary War. It was intended to celebrate the centennial celebration in 1876, but it took a while to raise the money. The French donated money to build the copper edifice and Americans, prodded by editorials in The World, the newspaper owned by Joseph Pulitzer, contributed for the pedestal.

The colossus in New York harbor was immediately a big hit. The torch has been closed since an act of sabotage during World War I blew up an ammunition dump on a nearby island.

Then came 9/11/01. Liberty Island reopened 100 days later, and visitors returned to the Statue of Liberty on Aug. 3, 2004. Since then, they’ve taken the views from an outside observation deck at the top of the pedestal, directly under the feet of the statue. The 19-inch, double helix spiral staircase to the crown is off limits.

Some lawmakers think the closure sends the wrong message and it’s time for change. Section 776, “Public Access to the Statue of Liberty,” reads: “No later than 60 days after enactment of this act, the Secretary of Interior shall ensure that all persons who satisfy reasonable and appropriate security measures shall have full access to the public areas of the Statue of Liberty including the crown and the stairs leading to the crown.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is among lawmakers who want to reopen the crown. He says tourists are disappointed at being stopped short of the crown. The Senate agreed to the measure as an amendment to last year’s immigration bill, and it’s back.

But the National Park Service has kept the crown closed for other reasons. The crown, so to speak, hung heavy. It was a headache.

“The stairs were never meant for visitors,” said Darren Boch, a park service spokesman. Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi created the statue originally as a lighthouse, and the stairs were meant for maintenance, Boch said.

Instead, thousands of tourists traipsed up and down. The cramped staircase allowed people to discover claustrophobic tendencies they didn’t know they had as they walked up the 354 steps.

After many medical emergencies, the park service was considering closing the crown even before 9/11.

And there’s really no quick way to evacuate people in an emergency.

People like the observation deck just fine, Boch said. When they did get to the crown, visitors found a 6-foot space where they got a brief glimpse out tiny windows while other tourists waited impatiently for their view.

“They were disappointed,” he said.

So, now comes Section 776 to open the staircase and the crown. Is it a good move? And you thought amnesty was hard.

[sageb1]

“People like the observation deck just fine, Boch said. When they did get to the crown, visitors found a 6-foot space where they got a brief glimpse out tiny windows while other tourists waited impatiently for their view.

“They were disappointed,” he said. “

Who was disappointed?

I was up there in the late 60s. I wasn’t disappointed.

[John Valentine]

I was up there in 1959. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go up the arm to the lamp.

[Paladin2]

put in a web cam.