[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 163 (Wednesday, November 17, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14746-S14747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IMMIGRATION ESSAY CONTEST

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, each year, the American 
Immigration Law Foundation and the American Immigration Lawyers 
Association sponsor a national writing contest on immigration. 
Thousands of fifth grade students across the country participate in the 
competition, answering the question, ``Why I'm Glad America is a Nation 
of Immigrants.''
  In fact, ``A Nation of Immigrants'' was the title of a book that my 
brother President Kennedy wrote in 1958 at a time when he was a 
Senator. All his life, he took pride in America's great heritage and 
history of immigration.
  As one of the judges of this year's contest, I was immensely 
impressed with the quality of the students' writing and the pride of 
the students in America's immigrant heritage. Many of the students told 
the story of their own family's immigration to the United States.
  The winner of this year's contest is Crystal Uvalle, a fifth grader 
from Pennsylvania. She wrote about her father's immigrant background 
and how he came to America 20 years ago. Other students honored for the 
high quality of their essays were Leif Holmstrand and Eugene Yakubov of 
Chicago, Samantha Huber of Fredonia, Wisconsin, Alexa Lash of Miami, 
and Daniel Rocha of Media, Pennsylvania.
  Mr. President, I believe these award winning essays from the 
``Celebrate America'' essay contest will be of interest to all of us in 
the Senate, and I ask that they be printed in the Record.
  The essays follow:

            Why I am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                (By Crystal Uvalle, Grand Prize Winner)

     It was about 20 years ago,
     A man come here from Mexico.
     He sought a better way to live,
     And found he had a lot to give.
     He didn't speak a word of English,
     So he took a job busing dishes.
     To learn his new country's ways,
     He worked and studied everyday.
     He made Dallas his new home,
     And before he knew it he was in the know.
     He worked his way up in that restaurant,
     And a lady there, his eye she caught.
     She was a native of another state,
     And he asked her out on a date.
     She liked pierogies and roast beef,
     He liked tamales and spicy meat.
     It didn't take long, they were in love,
     Then God sent them a baby from heaven above.
     I'm so happy for them you see,
     That man and woman and I make three.
     I'm so happy America let him in,
     He's my father and my friend.

       I love you Daddy!
                                  ____


                 America, America--They Came To Be Free

                (By Leif Holmstrand, Chicago, Illinois)

       I dedicate this song to my Farfar (father's father), who 
     came to America from Sweden In 1920. His boat arrived in New 
     York, at Ellis Island, where he spent some time. He told my 
     father stories about his trip: friends dying of tuberculosis, 
     lice, over crowding. He went to Nebraska to try farming, but 
     finally settled in Chicago, where he was a fine painter and 
     woodworker.

     America, the land of the free;
     The immigrants made it strong with their diversity
     First, from England, came the Pilgrims, to worship as they 
           pleased,
     Next came the Germans, Irish, the French, the Swedes.
     The Finns, the Danes, the Polish and Portuguese,
     The Welsh, the Dutch, the Scots and the Chinese
     America, America, they came to be free,
     The immigrants made it strong with their diversity
     As indentured servants looking for opportunity,
     Stolen from West Africa as slaves without liberty,
     They came for land, they came for gold. From tyranny,
     War and famine, they fled to this country.
     America, America, they came to be free;
     The immigrants made it strong with their diversity.
     A dangerous, relentless journey across the sea,
     The immigrants landed at Ellis Island wanting to be free.
     They worked in mines and factories, on farm and railroad,
     Men, women, children, they carried a heavy
     America, America the land of the free,
     The immigrants made it strong with diversity.
     The IMMIGRANTS made it what it's come to be:
     The U.S.A.--proud and free
     America, America, the land of the free,
     The immigrants made it strong with their diversity.
     Mexico, Korea, Bosnia, the Sudan
     From Haiti, the Honduras, Afghanistan.
     They're still coming from many other lands,
     They come to America, they want this country:
     America, America, from sea to shining sea,
     America, America, the immigrants' country.
     America, America, the land of the free.
                                  ____


            Why I am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                (By Samantha Huber, Fredonia, Wisconsin)

     Africans, coming to America on slave ships
     Whipped and beaten
     No choice
     French, looking for gold and other treasures
     Claiming land that was not up for sale
     Indentured servants, looking for a new life
     Finding it
     America
     A nation of immigrants
     Spain, France, Mexico, England, Africa condensed into one
     Freedom, education, equality, and justice for all
     Diversity, teaching us tolerance
     Variety
     Differences in customs, holidays, foods, games, language, and 
           clothing
     Even ideas and thoughts differ
     Everyone with a different life story
     Giving us a taste of the rest of the world
     I'm proud of my country
     Glad to live in a nation of immigrants
     Accepting and welcoming people of the world.
                                  ____


             Why I'm Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                    (By Alexa Lash, Miami, Florida)

     I am alone

[[Page S14747]]

     Unprotected by the evil that stands before me
     I am alone
     Without home or a road to freedom

     I am afraid
     Walking through the blackened street of fear
     I am afraid
     Going to a new world where my language is not spoken

     I am transparent
     I am seeking a place with no one to be my guide
     I am transparent
     People see an ugly girl

     I am new
     Seeing new people who can help
     I am new
     Going to be free

     I am loved
     By my friends who I will trust
     I am loved
     By the family I will miss

     I am leaving
     I am going on the ship to freedom
     I am leaving
     Going to a street of gold

     I am crying
     Saying my good byes
     I am crying
     From tear to dangling tear

     I am forming
     I am becoming a woman on my own
     I am forming
     I am looking to see who I really am

     I am reaching
     Hearing the call of an eagle
     I am reaching
     Getting closer to the destination I have longed for

     I am observing
     Seeing the ocean bloom into waves along the shore
     I am observing
     Seeing the sun rise and the birds chirp

     I have arrived
     Feeling the warmth of the sand
     I have arrived
     In America.
                                  ____


                                America

                 (By Daniel Rocha, Media, Pennsylvania)

     America a land of differences
     different races;
     different faces,
     America a land of differences.

     America a land of freedom,
     Immigrants come from far and near,
     To taste the freedom we have here.
     They come for freedom of religion,
     freedom of speech,
     freedom of press,
     they come for freedom from dictators and laws
     America a land of freedom

     America a land of family,
     people come from different lands,
     to see their family that lives here,
     America a land of family.

     America a land of hope,
     Immigrants who come here,
     hope for freedom from unfair rules,
     hope to escape their fears,
     hope to stop their endless tears,
     America a land of hope

     America a land of people,
     many people,
     some have similarities,
     some have differences
     some have both
     America a land of people.

     America a land of different languages
     Spanish, English,
     Portuguese, Scottish
     Chinese, Japanese,
     many languages,
     America a land of different languages

     America a land of all,
     America a land of difference,
     America a land of freedom,
     America a land of family,
     America a land of hope,
     America a land of people,
     America a land of different languages,
     America a land for all.
                                  ____


            Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants

                 (By Eugene Yakubov, Chicago, Illinois)

       My family came to the United States in 1996 because life in 
     Ukraine was getting worse and was getting worse. There were 
     no jobs, no food, and no money.
       My friends' parents didn't have jobs for two years. In 
     America his father got a job right away. Many people left 
     their countries even though they had to change their 
     professions.
       In Ukraine my father was a tinsmith. Now he repairs air 
     conditioners. My mom went to ``Beauty School.''
       It is great that America is a nation of immigrants because 
     when new immigrants arrive they meet people just like them. 
     No one laughs at their English or their misery.
       On my first day of school I was afraid I didn't know 
     English. In class I saw children from all around the world. A 
     Russian boy helped me a lot.
       In America people have to work hard because life is not 
     easy. This is the country that is built with hard labor.
       New immigrants are like new-borns in the family. They bring 
     happiness and joy.
       I am grateful to America because my parents could find a 
     job, and I may go to school where teachers don't faint 
     because they are hungry.
       Once President Kennedy addressed his fellow Americans. I 
     address my fellow immigrants. Don't ask what America can do 
     for you ask what you can do for America, a Promised Land for 
     many of us.

                          ____________________