Sometimes one incident can show both what is right and what is wrong with America. Such was the case last week when more than 200 Haitian immigrants jumped off a 50-foot boat and swam to shore in Florida.

That hundreds of starving immigrants would come here is a tribute to America’s prosperity and stability. We all should be thankful to live in such a wealthy country.

And the Haitians are not the only ones seeking refuge on our shores. Working briefly for an immigration law firm this summer, I talked to several people who all dreaded deportation to their home countries. One man said he would rather poison himself to death than return to Sierra Leone. He showed me a picture of a few of his young relatives, who he supports with the money he makes here. One of the children was missing a leg.

Then there was the Lebanese Christian who said he was beaten while going through checkpoints controlled by the Syrian government and the Bangladeshi man who feared for his life because his party was no longer in power.

A lot of good, hard-working people want to be part of America. But too often we don’t let them. The U.S. government’s handling of the situation last week shows a lack of compassion for those who want to share in our prosperity.

When the immigrants arrived, they were herded onto prison buses and taken to a detention center for questioning. They will remain locked up until they can prove persecution by their government. If they cannot do this, they will be shipped back to one of the poorest nations on Earth.

Like so many immigrants, the Haitians were imprisoned indiscriminately. They pose no threat, yet they remain behind bars. The situation reminded me of an El Salvadorian family I know that came here more than a decade ago. The government imprisoned the three young children of the family at the border, forcing the youngest child to spend her fifth birthday in jail.

Welcome to America.

The government does grant asylum to those immigrants who can prove they fled their country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

But this sort of persecution is difficult to prove. It often comes down to whether or not immigrants can convince government officials they are telling the truth. And post-Sept. 11, this has become a much more difficult task. Further, asylum law is blatantly hypocritical. Although almost any Cuban who reaches U.S. soil can stay, all the Haitians who arrived last week probably will be shipped home.

Why? Because even though the Cold War ended 11 years ago, the U.S. government is still fighting the supposed threat of communism. The inability of Cubans to participate in a free market economy is seen as an important political issue. The inability of Haitians to eat is seen as an economic one.

I would be careful in making such distinctions. When a country cannot feed its people, there is a political, moral and ethical problem. And when the world’s superpower turns its back on starving masses, it can expect a backlash in the future.

American prosperity and freedom can and should be celebrated. But without justice and compassion for everyone, including immigrants, we are only achieving half the American dream.

Jesse Abrams-Morley is a Medill sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected].