Six years later. we extended the rights of citizenship to the Guamanian people. and they have played an increasingly greater role in American life and government ever since. Most recently. in fact. Guam was the center for the Southeast Asian refugees hoping to resettle in America. It has played a significant role in the effort to relocate these Vietnamese and Cambodians victimized by the years of war which ravaged their countries. The refugees poured into Guam by the tens of thousands to be processed and prepared for life in our country. Once secure in their camps on the tiny island. the refugees were able to begin their orientation in the society of their new homeland. The Asian refugees have gained new freedom on Guam just as Guamanians did through the Organic Act of 1950. the anniversary of which we observe today. The island has come to mean for the refugees what the Statue of Liberty meant for the European immigrants earlier in this century. It was the first American soil they saw. soil which represented freedom from the agony of war. Before the Organic Act. however. such freedom did not exist on Guam. In the 25 years since American citizenship was bestowed on them by the Congress. the people of Guam have enjoyed freedom which was unknown to them in the political limbo they were in after the Treaty of Paris of 1898. For 52 years they lived without the benefits of home rule. governed first by the American commander of naval operations on the island and then by the Japanese during the war. Thus the Organic Act was a landmark piece of legislation for Guam. and the Guamanians have certainly fulfilled their role as American citizens through their aid in the Southeast Asian refugee program. I urge all of us to joint with the gentleman from Guam in a salute to Guams freedom.
Keywords matched
immigrants refugee refugees