Eliot Engel: “I want to announce that I have introduced H.R. 5032, which is the Caribbean Amnesty and Relief Act. The act originally…”

“I want to announce that I have introduced H.R. 5032, which is the Caribbean Amnesty and Relief Act. The act originally applied to people from the English-speaking Caribbean nations, but we have now expanded it to apply to people from all nations in the Caribbean. Because of the close proximity of the Caribbean to the United States, there really is indeed a special relationship between our country and the Caribbean. And we have many, many people who have come to our shores and who want to come to our shores who immigrate to this country for the same reasons that my grandparents immigrated at the turn of the last century many, many years ago, wanting a better life for themselves and wanting a better life for their families; and, in doing so, they create a better life for all Americans. Let us look at the kind of American who immigrates to this country. It is not a lazy person. It is not someone who wants something for nothing. It is an industrious person, someone who leaves behind the old country, family, friends, culture, and comes to this country. It is a special person. Indeed we are by and large a nation of immigrants, and the reason why our country has grown and flourished and prospered is because of the industriousness of our immigrants. And so, I believe that immigration is a good thing for this country. Some may disagree. I think they are wrong.”