Jane Harman: “I thank Mr. Cunningham for his leadership on this issue, and rise in strong support of the Cunningham-Harman amendment.…”

“I thank Mr. Cunningham for his leadership on this issue, and rise in strong support of the Cunningham-Harman amendment. Let me tell you a story about four exceptional people who shared several things in common. What are the things that Jose Gutierrez, Jesus del Suarez, Francisco Martinez-Flores, and Jose Garibay had in common? They all loved this country, they all served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and they all died fighting for this country in Iraq. Something else they shared, Mr. Chairman--none of them were U.S. citizens. The amendment we are now considering appropriately recognizes these four young men and the thousands of other noncitizens whose service and ultimate sacrifice often goes overlooked. Based on legislation that Representative Cunningham and I introduced last fall, this amendment authorizes construction of a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many of our military heroes, past and present--from the American Revolution to Operation Iraqi Freedom and beyond--were, like Jose, Jesus, Francisco and Jose--born outside of the United States. In fact, an estimated 20 percent of Medal of Honor recipients--the Nation's highest military honor--are immigrants. Among the hundreds of U.S. service men and women we have lost in Iraq, at least 24 are foreign-born.”