María Elvira Salazar: “I do have some personal history on this issue because my family came here in 1598, long before Jamestown, some 12…”

“I do have some personal history on this issue because my family came here in 1598, long before Jamestown, some 12 generations ago. We have been around a long time. My own history is one where I know I am the first Mexican American to serve in this Senate in 30 years--the first Mexican American in 30 years and the only one, ever, elected to the Senate outside of the State of New Mexico. When I look at this issue of the border, I approach it from the point of view that we as a nation have a sovereign responsibility to protect our borders. We have a responsibility to make sure we have a systematic law in place that deals with the immigration issues of our country. But I also believe, just as Ronald Reagan asked Mr. Gorbachev to take the wall down between East Germany and West Germany in order to end the cold war, there will come a time when, hopefully, this Senate is part of taking down this wall between Mexico and the United States.”