[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 87 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7354-S7355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FIVE WINNERS PICKED TO ``CELEBRATE AMERICA''

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, a few months ago, the American 
Immigration Lawyers Association held its second annual essay contest, 
entitled ``Celebrate America'' for fifth grade children across the 
country. The children were asked to write essays on the subject, ``Why 
I am Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants.''
  Thousands of children entered the contest, and I congratulate all the 
participants. Five winners were selected, and were judged by a panel 
that included our colleague Senator Abraham, Washington State Governor 
Gary Locke, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Minnesota Supreme 
Court Justice Alan Page, and myself.
  The winner of this year's contest is Jaclyn Mals, from Decatur 
Classical School in Chicago, who wrote about her great-grandfather's 
immigrant experience. In addition, four other students were honored for 
their essays--Tony Kudron of Livonia, MI, Samantha Fonseca-Moreira of 
Lexington, MA, Mandi Steiner of West Hills, CA, and Kayla Weinstein of 
Encinitas, CA. All of the essays are an expression of the pride that we 
all share in our immigrant heritage, and emphasize what the nation 
gains from immigrants.
  I congratulate each of these students, and I ask unanimous consent 
that the five winning essays from the ``Celebrate America'' contest be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the essays were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            (By Jaclyn Mals)

                          Miss Liberty and Me

     This man, I'm told, was an immigrant,
     arrived when he was young,
     seven dollars in his pocket,
     Spoke only a foreign tongue.

     Miss Liberty greeted him at the shore,
     and he smiled with great relief,
     a new beginning was ahead,
     in freedom, her torch did reach.

     The years ahead were an adventure,
     new language, new customs, and ways,
     his children were his tutors,
     to prosper in his days.

     This man was my great grandpa,
     and if you look around,
     his story is quite familiar now,
     in this multi-cultural crowd.

     He gave us inspiration,
     to welcome all who roam,
     and light the way like Miss Liberty,
     for those with no land to call home.

     So whenever you meet a person,
     who comes from a land that's not free
     show them all they can be in freedom,
     like Great Grandpa, Miss Liberty, and me.
                                  ____


             Why I'm Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                            (By Tony Kudron)

       Immigration has played a very important part in our 
     country's history. Many of our past immigrants passed through 
     Ellis Island from 1892 to 1943. It has been part of the 
     Liberty National Monument since 1965. Many of today's 
     immigrants come to the United States to be reunited with 
     their families. Others come here seeking employment, while 
     others look for political freedom.
       My story of immigration is about my sister, Mia. She was 
     adopted from Seoul, Korea. One of the steps in the adoption 
     process was to petition the Department of INS. The 
     Immigration and Naturalization Service is our country's 
     government agency that administers our country's immigration 
     laws and procedures. Our social worker helped us with the 
     forms and procedures. There were several things that needed 
     to be done, but the two most important were that my parents 
     had to have their finger prints sent to the INS, and the 
     other was to fill out Form I-600 to Petition to Classify 
     Orphan as an Immediate Relative. The citizenship process took 
     six months. The next step was to go to the INS office in Port 
     Huron, Michigan. So, on November 15, 1996 my family went to 
     Port Huron.
       We started the afternoon off by enjoying lunch at the 
     Thomas Edison Inn on the St. Clair River. After lunch we went 
     to our scheduled appointment at the INS office located by the 
     Blue Water Bridge. Mia was dressed in a red, white and blue 
     dress and was holding the American flag. There my parents 
     went over the paperwork with the officers and turned in Mia's 
     green card. They gave us a copy of her green card for her 
     baby book. Since Mia was just under two years

[[Page S7355]]

     old, my dad signed her certificate of U.S. Citizenship for 
     her. Now was the final step. With a very serious look on his 
     face the INS officer read Mia the Oath of Allegiance. Mia 
     stood on a chair in front of the officer's desk and listened 
     carefully as if she understood, nodding her head when 
     appropriate. It brought tears and smiles to all of our faces. 
     She also received a letter from President Clinton 
     congratulating her on becoming a U.S. citizen. So, I'm glad 
     America is a nation of immigrants because without immigration 
     to the U.S., I wouldn't have my beautiful little sister.
                                  ____


            Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                     (By Samantha Fonseca-Moreira)

       America without immigrants, would be like a patchwork quilt 
     without the patches. Without immigrants there would be no 
     colors. The immigrants bring the colors to the quilt because 
     of their different cultures, religions and skin color. They 
     came to this country for different reasons; freedom, starting 
     a new life, making money and worshiping any way they choose. 
     Without immigrants America would not have become the great 
     nation that it is today.
       The thread that sews the quilt together is made from the 
     struggles and hard times that many immigrants had to go 
     through when they came to the United States. One of the 
     reasons that the quilt is so strong and beautiful is that we 
     have worked hard together to make America a better country by 
     creating rules that are fair for everyone. The individual 
     patches are needed to create the beauty of the quilt. 
     Together they combined to form the patterns that make the 
     quilt complete.
       The stuffing is made up of generations and generations of 
     new Americans that met and married, a German with an Irish, a 
     Chinese with a Portuguese, a Greek with a French, for a 
     Brazilian with a Canadian. Only in the United States could 
     this be possible. They bring stories and heritages that 
     become part of America. The quilt is a never ending project. 
     New immigrants arrive every day creating their own patches of 
     the American quilt.
                                  ____


Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants--I Can Be Me in America

                           (By Mandi Steiner)

     I am who I am, and you are who you are
     If you believe in me, and I believe in you,
     We each can be a shining star
     In our land of the red, white, and blue.

     You are my sister, and you are my brother
     It doesn't matter if you are Italian or Greek,
     Let's remember to be kind to each other,
     And respect the language we happen to speak.

     We can learn so many new things,
     About all the cultures that we meet
     That we can travel without wings
     By talking to new friends on our street.

     I greet you with ``Hola'', and you say ``Bon Jour,''
     But I know what you mean by the smile on your face.
     So hand in hand we walk down the block to the store,
     Not ever caring about color or race.

     I feel lucky to sample the flavors we share
     Chop suey, chili, and falafels galore
     We sing, we eat, we show that we care.
     We enjoy and then come back for more.

     I am who I am, and you are who you are
     We have roots to keep us proud without fear
     Although we may have come from very far,
     In America our voice will be heard loud and clear.
                                  ____


                         Immigrants Are the Key

                          (By Kayla Weinstein)

     Do you always think the grass is green,
     Morning, evening, in-between?
     Look much closer and you'll see
     So many colors blend to be.

     So many fishes in the sea
     Designs and colors running free
     But all are one and come together
     Making life there so much better.

     Blue's not the color of the sky
     Both day and night I'll tell you why,
     Pinks, oranges, purples must be seen
     And all the colors in-between

     And what about the pot of soup?
     Beans, broccoli, peas and more to scoop
     Each has a flavor of its own.
     Together's when its name is known.

     Our country's something of the same
     All people share their county's fame
     Were richer when we come together
     Learning, sharing makes us better.

     Difference makes our nation richer
     Like juice for punch in one big pitcher
     Like grass, like sky, like soup, like sea
     Our land of immigrants is key!

                          ____________________