Speech #1100047182

Lance Corporal Gutierrez was killed a year later. close to the city of Umm al Qasr in southern Iraq. on March 21. 2003. He was 28 years old. This mans sacrifice. the first life laid down in the sands of Iraq on behalf of the United States. is testament to the belief of immigrants in the promise of America. It is a symbol of patriotism. of commitment to defending a dream that we all share. In May of last year. according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. nearly 69.000 foreignborn soldiers. 5 percent of the entire military. are on active duty. Five percent are foreign born. Can it be said of these immigrants that they are a threat to our national security? Clearly. no. They ensure our national security. Can it be said that these immigrants threaten American workers? Clearly. no. They ensure that American workers can go to their jobs in peace. Can it be said of these immigrants that they threaten the safety of our communities with drugs or violence? Again. clearly. no. They are the pillars of their communities when home and defenders of their communities when abroad. Why then have so many in this debate over immigration missed the contributions these brave individuals make to the peace. the prosperity. and the security of our country? Do examples of immigrants courage and sacrifice occur as seldom as those acts of violence some use to characterize an entire immigrant population? Is their heroic service anecdotal in the larger discussion about the contributions of immigrants to our society? Once again. I hardly believe so. One out of every 20 soldiers in the United States military was born outside the United States. Two members of an average platoon immigrated to this country and now serve us all honorably. What more can we ask of these young people? Lance Corporal Gutierrez not only gave his life for his adopted country. he was the first to do so in this war. What more can we ask of immigrant parents when they have already given up their brave sons and daughters for the defense of an adopted homeland? Mr. Speaker. these immigrant soldiers are among the most prominent faces of immigration today. but they are not uncharacteristic of the larger immigrant population. They represent the honest work ethic. the ambition and the patriotism characteristic of immigrants of all national origins and across all eras. They represent the frontier spirit that built our country and continues to bring the best the world has to offer here to our shores. to the United States. in pursuit of our common American Dream. At this time I would like to recognize a dear friend. a colleague. the dean of the Texas delegation.