In the current debate on immigration policy, we see two opposing views toward new arrivals — some are welcoming, some want to seal the borders and keep them out. Were immigrants always treated with ambivalence, with one arm open?

My study of an Italian religious community in Hartford suggests they were. I recently read dozens of articles from a century ago printed in The Courant and elsewhere regarding the Italian Congregational Church of Hartford, an immigrant Protestant congregation that existed in the city from 1903 to 1976.

Read more

Source: http://www.courant.com/