Mr. Speaker. not a day passes without some tribute being paid to our immigrant heritage. Most Americans. however. rarely take the trouble to ascertain more about the roots and reality of that heritage. It comes from many places in the old country. and nowhere is it better represented than in the city of New York and my own borough of Brooklyn. As the immigrants arrived here. more often than not penniless. helpless. and unable to speak English. they relied on the ideals and institutions they were able to uproot and bring with them. Often these took the form of small societies. based upon what region or town some of these new arrivals hailed from in the old country. Based on religious and communal ties. many of these societies have written glowing chapters in American city life.
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