National Citizenship Day

Floor Speech

Ms. JUDY CHU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate National Citizenship Day.

America would not be the great country that it is without its immigrants. One of our greatest strengths is our Nation's diversity--the ability of this country to absorb and integrate the most entrepreneurial minds that this world has to offer and to make them our own. In fact, immigrants or their children have founded more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies.

However, there is a dangerous anti-immigrant sentiment perpetuated by those who fail to recognize the strength derived from our diversity. Even today, laws are being proposed to deny the constitutional right of citizenship to those born in America. Proposals like these are both appalling and un-American.

In Congress, we must continue to fight against these anti-immigrant proposals and to push for comprehensive immigration reform, and we must work to ensure that every person who is eligible for naturalization understands the process that it takes to become a U.S. citizen and has a voice in our great democracy.

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