Joaquin Castro: “In 1922, the only grandparent I would come to know came from Mexico to the United States. She was not a rapist or a…”

“In 1922, the only grandparent I would come to know came from Mexico to the United States. She was not a rapist or a murderer or an alien. She was a 6-year-old girl whose parents had died around the time of the Mexican Revolution, and the closest relatives who could take her and her sister in were in Texas. I bet if we went around this Chamber, I know there would be beautiful stories, similar stories, of ancestors who came from Italy, Germany, Ireland, Africa, Asia, and every corner of the world. They are the immigrants to this country. They are the strength of this country. Language matters. Recently, the Library of Congress decided to retire the term ``illegal alien'' because it is dehumanizing. For the first time in American history, today, the Congress is ready to interfere with the business of the Library of Congress. In the years of the Congress and the Library, language has evolved. That is why we have done away with terms like ``Negro,'' ``Oriental,'' ``lunatic,'' and ``retarded,'' because we understand that even words that start off as neutral descriptors can, over time, become used as verbal weapons and knives to inflict pain and disrespect and sow division. That is the case today. There are times in our country's history where our politics have also been a race to the bottom. Those Irish ancestors were greeted by signs that read ``no Irish need apply'' in cities like New York and Boston.…”