We won this rich heritage as the accident of birth. Those who decide they want to be American citizens and make the personal sacrifice and effcrt necessary should be welcomed. In my district are many immigrants. and I find most of them are intensely patriotic. hardworking. and good citizens. My district is a better place because it has these immigrants as citizens. As we write this legislation. let us keep to the high road so there can be no mistake that the Statue of Libertys beacon gleams brightly as ever. Some fear the day will come when immigration from Latin America Will pose a crisis. No such crisis is in sight. and if we proceed wisely in our foreign policies we can help to avert any such problem. Should we therefore fix a limit on immigration from Latin America? To my way of thinking. this action would be a step backward. It would be interpretedwhether justly or notas a tightening up of our immigration policies. Throughout most of our history we have discriminated in regard to Latin America in ways other than immigration. The Monroe Doctrine. sadly abused in regard to Castros Cuba. is an example of discrimination. So. in a sense. was the Good Neighbor policy. and the more recent Alliance for Progress. The United States has long recognized a special responsibility in regard to Latin America. Instead of establishing an immigration limit which might be misunderstood we would be wiser to restate our longstanding and magnanimous attitude toward immigration. Instead of imposing numerical limits in Latin America. we should state our desire eventually to lift limits elsewhere. We should remind our friends abroad that our Union of States is not a fixed. closed system.
Keywords matched
immigration immigrants