As a start, what could the very idea of a “nation of immigrants” mean in a land that was already home to a large native population when European immigrants started to colonize it? In the context of the United States at that moment, however, it was something else. Hence, the United States continued to be a “nation of immigrants” -- but only of a specific sort.Citizenship by birth, however, opened a Pandora’s box. As in the United States, indigenous people in these countries have tended to be the poorest, most marginalized, most exploited sectors of the population. The message is clear: This land is still Native.” And another message is clear too: the United States is still deporting native people.

Source: Huffington Post September 13, 2016 15:33 UTC