Speech #1090065593

Today many Caribbean workers can be found in the hospital. construction. service and hotel industries. but there is also a growing professional sector. Estimates of the Caribbean population in the U.S. range upwards from 2.6 million. depending on how one defines the Caribbean. While the largest Caribbean immigrant sources to the U.S. are from Cuba. the Dominican Republic. Jamaica and Haiti. U.S.-citizen migrants also come from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Many of the undocumented immigrants from the Caribbean islands have been living. working and making vital contributions to our country for many years. In New York it is almost impossible to walk down the streets of Harlem or Brooklyn without hearing a Caribbean accent or coming across a Jamaican eatery. The members of the Caribbean community are hard working. pay into our social security system and have U.S.-born children who do not know a home other than the United States. In the great state of New York alone. undocumented workers pay more than $1 billion in taxes a year. I believe that members of the Caribbean community who have had a long working record and quality for U.S. naturalized citizenship should apply. The United States is historically a nation of immigrants. Our ancestors all had the possibility to fulfill their American Dream and I think that the same opportunity should be given to hard working newcomers who came to this country from the Caribbean. I introduce in the RECORD the article from the July 26 NYCarib.