“An Immigration Debate Framed by Family Ties”

April 4, 2006 at 2:52 pm | Posted in Readings | Leave a comment

On the Capitol Hill, a heated debate over immigration takes place in Congress with Senators carrying memories of their own American experience. From today’s NYT:

“You talk about America being a nation of immigrants,” he said, “well, my two best friends were immigrants, my mother and my father. I saw how they struggled. They struggled with the language. They struggled with anti-Semitism. They struggled to make a living. It was tough. You knew you were different.

“So I have a lot of simpatico for the individuals who are immigrants. I have even more of an understanding of what immigrants have done for the country.”

Mr. Martinez, the Florida Republican, echoed those thoughts, saying his own success in the United States had convinced him that given the opportunity, illegal immigrants would also succeed. “America has a way of bringing us in,” he said, “welcoming us and allowing us to become a part of the whole.”

Full article available here.