At the time when the military has been forced to unfortunately lower many of its standards to meet recruitment targets. we should not underestimate the significance of these young people as a national security asset. This is the choice the DREAM Act presents us. We can allow a generation of immigrant students with great potential and ambition to contribute more to America. or give them the future of living in the shadows. uncertain about what they can do. uncertain about where life will lead them. I am going to urge my colleagues to support this legislation and I hope they will. for a moment. pause and reflect. There have been a lot of things said about immigration during the course of this debate. I look back on this issue as one who doesnt come to it objectively. I am the son of an immigrant. My mother came to this country as a young girl at the age of 2 from Lithuania. Her naturalization certificate sits behind my desk upstairs. She became a naturalized citizen at the age of 25. She lived long enough to see me 53. Pt. 18 September 18. 2007 sworn into the Senate. and I was so proud of that day and so proud to be a Senator from the State of Illinois. I believe in immigration. I believe the diversity of America is our strength. that Black. White. and Brown. from every corner of this Earth we have come together to create something no nation on Earth can rival. There are those who will always see immigration differently. those who will question it. and those who will be critical. For those people. I ask them to step back and take an honest look at this.
Keywords matched
immigrant naturalization naturalized immigration