[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2490-H2491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT GAINING IN AMERICA

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, as a person who came to this country 
at the young age of 7 as a refugee fleeing the Communist dictatorship 
of Fidel Castro in Cuba, I know first hand the generosity and 
opportunities this great country has offered immigrants from around the 
world.
  Unfortunately, I am afraid that today, an anti-immigrant sentiment is 
growing from an unreal perception that immigrants only come to the 
United States to take advantage of our generous society and become a 
burden on the state while never integrating nor becoming productive 
citizens.
  Nothing could be further from the truth. Immigrants have contributed 
[[Page H2491]]  greatly to all facets of American life in the economic, 
cultural, and political fields.
  I appeal to my colleagues to not be swayed by those who would place 
all of the problems of this Nation on the backs of immigrants. Let us 
look at immigrants for what they are: hard working, god fearing, law-
abiding, honest residents, who like native born Americans, want to 
provide themselves and their children a better future.


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