Speech #1090112600

I believe. for every generation of Americans. Each generation has had more opportunity. and it is because this American work ethic. this culture that we have. has always striven to provide for more opportunities for the next generation. So in 1924. they dramatically shrunk down the legal immigration coming into this country and they stalled immigration throughout that period on from 1924. on through the Second World War. on through the 1950s. up until about 1964 when they passed an immigration act that began to open up immigration in a larger way here in the United States. That was perhaps a 40 year hiatus from significant immigration numbers. and that was the period of time by which actually two parts of two generations were assimilated into America and there became a distinction here in this country. very much commonality. We lost our sense of what was the country that our ancestors came from. we lost our sense of ethnicity. and we absorbed this American ethnicity with this great dream we are all created in Gods image and there is not a distinction between his creation. and we could all come here and thrive and prosper together and all under one flag. Well. so in 1964. perhaps 1965. when immigration laws were changed. it began to open this up. and it was opened up in a way that they didnt realize at the time I dont think the kind of numbers that would be coming. but it began to set a new set of parameters. Chain migration was one of those. where a person could immigrate into the United States and then begin to be able to bring their family members in. Later on there was legislation that was passed that provided for a visa lottery so that there would be 50.000 people that would come into the United States by just entering their name in a lottery. and if their name was drawn from the lottery. they would come to the United States. Those kind of policies began to come into play. and as that went along. immigration accelerated then from 1965 on up until 1986 when there was an amnesty program that was passed by Congress and signed by the President. This truly was an amnesty program. It was about 3 million illegals in America at the time that were given a lawful permanent resident status and a chance to become citizens of the United States.