--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the immigrant hordes who keep this…" description: "\"It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than the people who ru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this_168861.png" --- # It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive… ![“It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than the people who run down the gangplank and kiss the ground?” quote by E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this_168861.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this_168861.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this_168861.png) > “It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than the people who run down the gangplank and kiss the ground?” [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that immigrants sustain the nation, embodying its ideals more than those who abandon it. **In simple terms:** Immigrants keep the country alive and loyal. Key Takeaway Value and support immigrant contributions. Themes immigration national identity loyalty Mood hopeful reflective Type political social When to use this quote - policy making - community integration - public discourse - historical analysis Key Concepts civic contribution cultural renewal economic impact Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better integrate newcomers? - What defines true patriotism? A Different Perspective Immigration debates often overlook complexities of integration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Hordes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hordes/) [Immigrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrant/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [“I thought if I loved you enough I could change you. I was so stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-thought-if-i-loved-you-enough-i-could-change-you-i-was-so-stupid/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“I wanted to see the bullet coming, wanted to know the exact moment of my death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-wanted-to-see-the-bullet-coming-wanted-to-know-the-exact-moment-of/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“I felt a lunatic’s laugh welling up inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-felt-a-lunatic-s-laugh-welling-up-inside-me/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“Did you ever think it won’t be the undead who kill us, but ordinary people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/did-you-ever-think-it-won-t-be-the-undead-who-kill-us-but-ordinary/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“I knew then I was going to die in the street without ever seeing Holly again. 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He’s already dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/drive-he-s-already-dead/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“Remember. Observe, assess and act. No hesitation. No remorse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/remember-observe-assess-and-act-no-hesitation-no-remorse/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“I don’t know how these things died without benefit of a bullet to the brain pan. They seemed to exist in an eternal twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-don-t-know-how-these-things-died-without-benefit-of-a-bullet-to-the/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“There’s nothing worse than delivering bad news to women. I hoped I wouldn’t get good at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/there-s-nothing-worse-than-delivering-bad-news-to-women-i-hoped-i/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) ## More by E. L. Doctorow > [Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/things-that-appear-on-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper-as-fact-are-far/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [There are moments when I cannot bear this unremitting consciousness. It knows only itself. Awake, I am in a continuum with my dreams. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/there-are-moments-when-i-cannot-bear-this-unremitting-consciousness/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Most people are quiet in the world, and live in it tentatively, as if it were not their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/most-people-are-quiet-in-the-world-and-live-in-it-tentatively-as-if/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A book begins as a private excitement of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-book-begins-as-a-private-excitement-of-the-mind/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I started on computers with 'Billy Bathgate,' a little orange screen with black letters. I thought it was really cool, but it actually slowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-started-on-computers-with-billy-bathgate-a-little-orange-screen/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When I'm writing, I like to seal everything off and face the wall, not to look outside the window. The only way out is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-i-m-writing-i-like-to-seal-everything-off-and-face-the-wall-not/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Facts are the images of history, just as images are the facts of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/facts-are-the-images-of-history-just-as-images-are-the-facts-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [The nature of good fiction is that it dwells in ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/the-nature-of-good-fiction-is-that-it-dwells-in-ambiguity/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Uncharged with invisible meaning, the visible is nothing, mere clay; and without visible circumstance, a territory, to connect to, our spirit is shapeless, nameless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/uncharged-with-invisible-meaning-the-visible-is-nothing-mere-clay-and/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [“Writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/writing-a-novel-is-like-driving-at-night-in-the-fog-you-can-only-see/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I did have a feeling then that the culture of factuality was so dominating that storytelling had lost all its authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-did-have-a-feeling-then-that-the-culture-of-factuality-was-so/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I got married very early, and in no time at all, we had three children. And it seemed to me I had an obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-got-married-very-early-and-in-no-time-at-all-we-had-three-children/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When you're writing a book, you don't really think about it critically. You don't want to know too well what you're doing. First, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-you-re-writing-a-book-you-don-t-really-think-about-it-critically/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A writer's life is so hazardous that anything he does is bad for him. Anything that happens to him is bad: failure's bad, success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-writer-s-life-is-so-hazardous-that-anything-he-does-is-bad-for-him/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/it-s-like-driving-a-car-at-night-you-never-see-further-than-your/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) [Explore all 108 E. L. Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than the people who run down the gangplank and kiss the ground?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. L. 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