Immigration Speech
IMMIGRAT ION NAT ION
Immigration Nation T he United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants from around the world and adopting many of their customs and cuisines. THIS FUSION OF NATIONALITIES, cultures and ethnicities has formed what it means to be American today. All people in the United States were immigrants originally. Our country was founded by people who were foreign-born and immigrated to America as adults. You have ancestors in your family tree who immigrated to the United States at some point, whether they traveled to America on the Mayflower in 1620, arrived by ship at New York City’s Ellis Island in the early 1900s, or just recently immigrated here. People immigrate to the United States for a variety of reasons. They may be driven by the desire for religious freedom or seek economic opportunities.
GIVEN ON NOV. 20 , 2014 BY PRES IDENT BARACK OBAMA ( 2009 - 2017 )
“...My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in, and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. “What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal that all of us are created equal, and all of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will. “That’s the country our parents and grandparents and generations before them built for us. That’s the tradition we must uphold. That’s the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come.”
Families may want to escape poverty or oppression, or create a better life for themselves. Immigrants benefit our country economically, politically and socially. Today’s American culture is the result of the merging of diverse ethnicities and cultures over many years. Each new generation of immigrants helps shape what it means to be American. ✦
FREEDOM FACT If you’re a naturalized citizen, you chose to become one by going through the legal process and taking a test. If you’re a natural born citizen , you were either born in the U.S. or your parents were American citizens.
CERTIFICATES OF CITIZENSHIP AND NATURALIZATION both serve as proof of U.S. citizenship, but the eligibility requirements differ. A Certificate of Citizenship is available to people who were born abroad and derived U.S. citizenship through birth or adoption by a U.S. citizen parent while a Certificate of Naturalization is given to a lawful permanent resident.
10 | IMMIGRAT ION NAT ION: THE MELT ING POT
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