Would you have predicted that the first big political blunder of 2022 would be committed by the freshly-inaugurated mayor of New York? Would you have thought that Eric Adams, the African-American former cop, political moderate, and skilled campaigner who represented a better path for Democrats, would step on a rake?…

Not everyone who came here from another country is a true immigrant. Some are just passing through. That’s not new. Between 1850 and 1913, the era of mass migration, about 30 million Europeans came to America. One in three eventually returned home, and there is reason to believe that similar percentages may be doing the same in the 21st century. A Pew Survey found that since the Great Recession, more Mexicans have returned home than have immigrated here. Some foreigners who come here may initially plan to stay and then change their minds. They are not true immigrants, but non-citizen residents. That doesn’t mean they have no rights; they enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights among others. But they are renters, not owners.

Acts like New York City’s cheapen the meaning of citizenship. Voting is not just a transaction. It isn’t just a matter of deciding which candidate will better handle snow removal or trash collection. Voting is an act of affiliation, a statement of solidarity with the nation you’ve adopted as your own.