Political Quotes

“America is a nation of immigrants. But for the Native Americans, the first people over here, all of us have come to this country in various stages in our family life: personally, through our parents, grandparents, and beyond. We have built, within the confines of our Nation, an amazing story to tell the world of how such a diverse group of people can come together in one place and make a nation that has an impact on the world itself. That makes it very difficult to understand sometimes why we struggle so much with the issue of immigration. It is so central to who we are, what we have done, what we will become. Yet, when the conversation comes around about immigration policy, immigration law, we dissemble into warring factions and too often get little or nothing done. The Presiding Officer may be surprised to know that it has been almost 36 years--36 years--since this Congress has passed any meaningful or substantive immigration law. The last real effort was under President Ronald Reagan. That is not an indication that our immigration system is perfect. It is far from perfect. There are many problems with it, as we look at it in a critical and important way. I look at it from a perspective that maybe is different than some. I am the son of an immigrant. My mother was brought to this country at the age of 2 from Lithuania, became a naturalized citizen, and was very proud of that fact and raised her three boys to be proud of it as well.…”