"Immigration is in our blood. It's part of our founding story. In the early 1600's courageous men and women sailed in search of freedom and a better life. Arriving in Jamestown and Plymouth, they founded a great nation. For centuries ever since, countless other brave men and women have made the difficult decision to leave their homes and seek better lives in this promised land. In New York Harbor, there stands a statue that represents the enduring ideal of what has made this nation great - a beacon on a hill. At her feet, on the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands, are inscribed the eloquent words of poet Emma Lazarus:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
- John F. Kennedy, Nation Of Immigrants
Conclusions
The 1965 Immigration Act was a sincere act by the US government to open its doors to people of any race. Unanticipated at the time of its passage, it became a revolutionary act for its legacy in changing the ethnic mosaic of our nation. Diverse immigrants with fresh ideas, talent, and skill stoke the fire of American innovation and global leadership. The Act's preference system for family-reunification caused mass legal migration from Asia and Latin America. Western Hemisphere quotas increased illegal immigration. Subsequent immigration reforms have tried to solve the problem by giving amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants (1986) and increasing border enforcement (1996). Despite these efforts, there are still 11 million undocumented immigrants. The immigration debate is one that we've always had, and will continue to have. In 2013, Congress will be debating issues of amnesty to the undocumented, migrant worker programs, and preference for the highly-skilled immigrant. Immigration isn't a mirror of American society, it is American society. While some may say traditional America died when the 1965 Immigration Act passed, a new America is being shaped.
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