Their websites indicate that Tea Party Patriots contrast their backgrounds with those of immigrants. TP Patriots are "home grown" Americans whose number one  political principal is this: "America is good".(see the 9/12 Declaration)

   That's an interesting contention, especially if we recall that our nation opened its doors to the world's immigrants in 1965 only because America was bad, very, very bad.

    More specifically, it was the ideological grandparents of today's home grown patriots who bear ultimate responsibility for forever transforming the ethnic composition of the American people.

     Start in1900, when some angry and anxious Americans sponsored a movement to "Americanize the Immigrant". They even went so far as to "swat the hyphen", i.e., anyone who identified as Polish or Irish or Italian-American. You were 100% red, white and blue or you were nothing.

      By 1924 so called nativists controlled a Congress where Representative Elton Watkins (R., Oregon) openly expressed this belief: "A half caste is a failure in most cases...the half caste Indian is a failure; the half caste black man is very likely to be a failure; but the half caste oriental is worse. He seems in the majority of cases to inherit the vices of both races and the virtues of neither. It makes as a rule, a bad product".

   In response, nativists used the 1924 Immigration Law to deny the right of "Orientals" to ever immigrate to the United States. After 1924, the quota for Chinese, Japanese and other "Asians" was zero. Hate and fear ruled the day, as Congress excluded an entire continent.

      That still left the "locusts", the Italians, Polish, Portuguese, Greeks and Spanish "creeping up in New York, one block at a time". In response, Congress decided to spray "raid" on the ethnic insects. In computing the number of immigration slots in any year after 1924, Congress used 1890 as a benchmark. Theoretically, everyone would be treated equally because any nation would receive a quota of 2% of its 1890 population.

    Since the vast majority of the voracious locusts arrived after 1890, Congress claimed objectivity as it used prejudice to slam the immigration doors in the face of almost everyone on earth. To nurture America's "native" core, from 1924 to 1965 roughly 60% of all immigration slots went to three nations: England, Germany and Ireland. The rest of Europe fought over the crumbs; as late as 1964, Italy received 5666 immigration slots, Greece 308, Spain 250, and Portugal 438.

   John Kennedy inherited an immigration policy rooted in open and poisonous prejudice. Part of his political constituency -especially Italians and Greeks- demanded change while, in forums like the United Nations, "Orientals" accused Americans of hypocrisy. If everyone was created equal,  why did Americans treat Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Indians with so much contempt? Did Congress still believe, as it argued in 1869, that Chinese people were so low on the racial totem pole that they were "incapable of assimilation"?

   Based on an analysis of documents in the Kennedy and Johnson libraries, a reader can make this assertion: Idealism motivated both Presidents to change the nation's immigration laws. They wanted to bring the ideals of the Declaration of Independence in line with the realities of American life. The trick was how to accomplish that goal. What specific rules would make everyone equal?

    Here is rule number one: First come, first served. No one could argue with that, especially those who bore the burden of forty years of open hatred. Waiting lines from countries like Italy and Greece extended back some ten or fifteen years. Potential immigrants saw a wide open door but Kennedy officials saw a problem: With only first come first served, the vast majority of post 1965 slots would go to Europe's Southern core. The rest of the world would still be locked out and America would still be bitterly criticized in any international forum that included officials from, say Asia or Africa.

   Here is principal number two, still in effect in 2010. To compensate for the hate and waiting list consequences of forty years of prejudice from early Twentieth century nativists, Congress set a limit on the number of immigrants who, in any one year, could come from any one nation. Whether Italian or (India) Indian, each nation got the same number of overall slots and none could ever again argue that America's immigration policies were rooted in prejudice against most of the world.

  Documents at the Johnson library indicate that neither the President nor Congress expected the world to accept America's invitation. Johnson told Congress that most immigrants would still come from Europe, only to discover that he was totally wrong. After 1965, England and Ireland rarely filled their country quotas while the previously hated parts of the world flocked to America's shores.

     Here are some of the 2010 consequences of America's 1965 attempt to right forty-one years of wrong.

·         The foreign born population represented 4.7% of America's people in 1970. Today the figure is roughly 12.5% and rising.

·         The overwhelming majority of these new immigrants come from nations and continents negatively targeted by the 1924 legislation. They are "nonwhite" in a society that still uses white as the positive role model.

·         One nation -Mexico- accounts for more than 25% of all LEGAL immigration; following Mexico are China, Philippines, India, Vietnam and El Salvador.

·         Even if "home grown" Americans close the immigration door tomorrow the ethnic composition of the American people has been forever changed. Remember, too, that immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents receive preferences for the immigration of their kin. Thus, in any one year roughly fifty percent of legal immigrants arrive over and above Congress' mandated limit. Unless we are going to stop families from uniting -a cornerstone of immigration policy since 1890- the "nonwhite" parts of the world will still arrive on America's shores for the indefinite future.

      One final point. When Congress passed the 1924 legislation, it now needed to find new people to do America's dirty, dangerous and demanding labor. With Italians, Greeks and Spanish folks no longer available, Congress closed it eyes to the use of Filipinos (until independence in 1946) and Mexicans. They soon "monopolized" stoop and squat" labor, as farmers and other employers rarely worried about a worker's legal status. In fact, if you check the thousands of telegrams sent to Senator Lyndon Johnson in the 1950's, you find one constituent after another demanding that the Senator "keep them coming". With no Europeans to do America's dirty work, Mexicans then became the "only" game in town.

    TP Patriots need to remember their ideological grandparents. Early twentieth century nativists are ultimately responsible for the 2010 ethnic composition of the American people.

    I am delighted by the changes. But, for those home grown patriots who want to point the finger of blame, here is my suggestion. Look in the mirror. Look for your America is good roots in the odious legislation that Congress passed in 1924.