118 SRES 243 IS: Recognizing the month of June 2023 as “Immigrant Heritage Month”, a celebration of the accomplishments and contributions of immigrants and their children in making the United States a healthier, safer, more diverse, prosperous country, and acknowledging the importance of immigrants and their children to the future successes of the United States.
U.S. Senate
2023-06-08
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EN
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II
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 243
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 8, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Luján, Ms. Warren, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the month of June 2023 as “Immigrant Heritage Month”, a celebration of the accomplishments and contributions of immigrants and their children in making the United States a healthier, safer, more diverse, prosperous country, and acknowledging the importance of immigrants and their children to the future successes of the United States.
Whereas the United States is stronger if all individuals have the opportunity to live up to their full potential;
Whereas about 18 percent of health care workers in the United States are immigrants, including (in order of highest percentage of health care workers who are foreign-born)—
(1)
27 percent of physicians;
(2)
26 percent of dentists;
(3)
20 percent of pharmacists;
(4)
18 percent of dental assistants;
(5)
15 percent of medical assistants;
(6)
16 percent of registered nurses;
(7)
15 percent of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses;
(8)
13 percent of dietitians and nutritionists; and
(9)
13 percent of optometrists;
Whereas the Association of American Medical Colleges attested to the Supreme Court of the United States that the health care system of the United States relies on immigrant health care providers in their current roles;
Whereas immigrants working in health care professions serve throughout the United States and often in rural or underserved communities;
Whereas immigrants fill approximately 1/4 of physician roles in the United States;
Whereas immigrants working in a health care occupation range from those granted temporary protected status under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) or deferred action pursuant to the final rule submitted by the Department of Homeland Security entitled “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (87 Fed. Reg. 53152 (August 30, 2022)) (referred to in this preamble as “DACA”), to naturalized United States citizens;
Whereas more than 12 percent of the immigrants working in health care occupations (310,000 individuals) are humanitarian migrants, including refugees, asylees, special immigrant visa holders, and parole entrants;
Whereas 60,000 DACA recipients perform critical roles in the health care industry;
Whereas medical students, residents, and physicians rely on DACA for their ability to practice medicine and provide medical care to approximately 4,600 patients per year;
Whereas, in response to COVID–19, immigrants put their own lives on the line to save lives every day, working as diagnostic and treatment practitioners, physician assistants, physicians, nurses, health aides, nursing assistants and orderlies, health care support workers, medical students and residents, and health technologists and technicians;
Whereas more than 5,200,000 undocumented immigrants, including more than 1/2 of all DACA recipients (400,000 individuals) and the majority of Temporary Protected Status holders (more than 220,000 individuals) are considered essential critical infrastructure workers;
Whereas immigrant essential workers, including first responders, health care workers, agricultural workers and meat packers, child care providers, and hospitality and transportation workers, have heroically helped provide medical care, food, shelter, and comfort to the individuals of the United States impacted by COVID–19;
Whereas undocumented immigrants alone contribute an estimated $227,000,000,000 of spending power annually to the United States economy, after the payment of $49,000,000,000 of combined Federal, State, and local taxes each year;
Whereas the majority of farm workers in the United States are immigrants, and regardless of politics, have been deemed “essential workers” to maintaining a safe food supply for the United States during the COVID–19 pandemic;
Whereas immigrants have served in the Armed Forces since the founding of the United States and have fought in every major conflict in United States history, including the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the conflicts in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq;
Whereas immigrants have put their lives on the line to protect the ideals of the United States and democracy, as well as to protect the lives of the people of the United States, by serving as translators and interpreters for the Armed Forces, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and performing sensitive and trusted activities for United States military personnel stationed with the International Security Assistance Force;
Whereas immigrants who serve in emerging industries with pronounced labor shortages in the United States, such as artificial intelligence, that rely on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this preamble as “STEM”) skills, not only bolster the economy but also enhance national security and global leadership;
Whereas, when immigrants have a trusting relationship with local law enforcement agencies, immigrants report crime and work with law enforcement agencies on neighborhood crime reduction strategies;
Whereas the United States has the largest number of immigrants in the world and those immigrants represent almost every country in the world, contributing to the rich diversity of people, cultures, cuisine, literature, art, language, academia, music, media, fashion, and customs;
Whereas the United States is more diverse than ever before in its history, with greater shares than ever before of immigrants from India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, and Guatemala, and, since 2000, an increase of more than 90 percent of Black immigrants from across the African continent, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Haiti;
Whereas Black immigrants and their children make up roughly 1/5 of the overall Black population in the United States (21 percent);
Whereas, in response to recent civil unrest in the United States, immigrants of all backgrounds have pledged their support to fight racial injustice, hand-in-hand with Black immigrants, to fight for accountability from law enforcement and the criminal justice system, and to demand that law enforcement protect all individuals, regardless of their skin color;
Whereas celebrating the racial, ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences of immigrants has resulted in a unified, patriotic, and prosperous United States;
Whereas immigration has long been one of the greatest competitive advantages of the United States;
Whereas immigrants of all skill levels have helped make the economy of the United States the strongest in the world, complementing existing businesses in the United States in times of need and founding successful businesses of their own;
Whereas more than 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, which generate $7,000,000,000,000 in annual revenue and employ millions of individuals in the United States;
Whereas, although approximately 14 percent of the population of the United States is immigrants, a considerably larger share of the labor force (18 percent) is immigrants;
Whereas immigrants are entrepreneurial self-starters who create their own opportunity and employment opportunities for others, with 13 percent of employed immigrants being self-employed compared to 9 percent of employed, native-born individuals of the United States;
Whereas immigrant-owned businesses provide jobs across the United States, supporting the creation of additional jobs through entrepreneurial activity in addition to the jobs they fill within their business;
Whereas immigrants are more likely to have advanced degrees than native-born people of the United States;
Whereas more than 1,000,000 international students are enrolled in colleges and universities across the United States, comprising about 5 percent of the total higher education population and helping make the United States the global leader in higher education;
Whereas approximately 100,000 international students each year would hope to stay and work in the United States, if an immigration option were available to them;
Whereas the immigration system of the United States has not been meaningfully updated in more than 30 years and is now outdated and overburdened, turning away highly skilled workers and international student graduates and putting the global leadership of the United States at risk;
Whereas allowing international student graduates interested in remaining in the United States to secure a permanent immigration status would expand the economy by $233,000,000,000 during the next decade and would help reduce STEM-related talent shortages by 25 percent;
Whereas national security experts agree that it is essential for the United States to maintain its military exceptionalism by being the leader in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber, quantum, robotics, directed energy, and hypersonic weapons, which are all STEM fields where immigrants fill dangerous labor shortages in the United States;
Whereas, due to population aging and longer life expectancy of the population in the United States requiring an increase in health care workers, immigrants are expected to fill a crucial need in the future health care system of the United States essential to keeping the people of the United States healthy;
Whereas, if undocumented individuals who came to the United States as children (commonly referred to as “Dreamers”) alone were provided a pathway to citizenship, they would contribute approximately $799,000,000,000 to the economy of the United States during the next 10 years;
Whereas future population growth in the United States will require increased immigration, and by increasing immigration substantially, will keep the United States economically competitive with China and other global economies and reduce future fiscal imbalances for popular programs like programs under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
Whereas, without immigration, the working-age population of the United States will not grow and increasing immigration will help alleviate labor shortages, easing inflation;
Whereas significantly increasing annual immigration levels would double the size of the United States economy by 2050, dramatically lower the ratio of working-age individuals to senior-age individuals, and increase the average income for workers in the United States;
Whereas President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., most recently honored the accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices of immigrants by proclaiming June 2023 to be “Immigrant Heritage Month” and by asking all people of the United States to observe June 2023 with appropriate programming and activities to remind individuals of the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
Whereas continued integration of immigrants from around the world in a manner that encourages and facilitates a pathway to citizenship, economic and social mobility, and civic engagement will perpetuate the prosperity of the United States and reinforce the patriotism all people of the United States feel for the United States, no matter the color of skin, country of origin, or religious background of the individual: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
recognizes June 2023 as “Immigrant Heritage Month” in honor of the contributions immigrants and their children have made to the United States throughout its history;
(2)
pledges to celebrate immigrant contributions to, and immigrant heritages in, each State;
(3)
welcomes immigrants presently in the United States and individuals seeking to immigrate to the United States to contribute to the health, safety, diversity, and prosperity of the United States by finding their place in the vibrant, multiethnic, and integrated society of the United States;
(4)
encourages the people of the United States to work with their immigrant neighbors and colleagues to advance the current and future well-being of the United States; and
(5)
commits to working with fellow Members of Congress, the executive agencies that administer immigration laws and policies, and the President to promote smart and just immigration policy for immigrants presently in the United States, their families, and individuals seeking to immigrate to the United States in the future.