[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 127 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10974-S10975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. Cornyn):
S. 1815. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to
prescribe the binding oath or affirmation of renunciation and
allegiance required to be naturalized as a citizen of the United
States, to encourage and support the efforts of prospective citizens of
the United States to become citizens, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, Senator Cornyn and I are introducing
legislation to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The
legislation would be called the Strengthening American Citizenship Act.
Over the next several weeks, this body will be engaged in a debate
about immigration reform. It is an essential debate which we must have
in order to honor our commitment to the rule of law. I believe that
real immigration reform must encompass three important steps.
First, we must secure our borders. Senators Cornyn, Kyl, McCain, and
Kennedy have introduced differing legislation with that goal in mind.
Second, we need to create a legal status for foreign workers and
foreign students who come here. Cornyn-Kyl and McCain-Kennedy also
address the question of workers. Later this month, I intend to
introduce legislation to ensure that our immigration system creates an
appropriate legal status for and welcomes the more than 550,000 foreign
students who study at our universities and who, incidentally,
contribute to our high standard of living by doing so.
But there is a third step to any real immigration reform. After we
secure our borders, after we create a legal status for foreigners who
work here and study here, the third indispensable step is to help
prospective citizens become Americans. That is why today I am
introducing the Strengthening American Citizenship Act. I am pleased to
be joined by Senator Cornyn in this effort.
The Strengthening American Citizenship Act helps legal immigrants who
are prospective American citizens to learn our common language, our
history, and our way of Government in the following ways: First,
providing $500 grants for English courses; next, allowing prospective
citizens who become fluent in English, not just basic in English, but
fluent in English, to apply for citizenship 1 year early; next,
providing for grants to organizations to provide courses in American
history and civics; authorizing the creation of a new foundation to
assist in those efforts; codifying the oath of allegiance to which new
citizens swear when they are naturalized; asking the Department of
Homeland Security to carry out a strategy to highlight the moving
ceremonies in which immigrants become American citizens; and finally,
establishing an award to recognize the contributions of new citizens to
our great Nation.
This bill is about fulfilling the promise of our national motto that
is written right above you, Mr. President, on the Senate wall: ``E
Pluribus Unum,'' one from many. It is in the most visible place in the
Senate Chamber. As a nation of immigrants, that motto--from many, one--
is very important to us. While our unique history makes us a diverse
nation, we are still one American Nation. How do we do that? How do we
as Americans take all of the magnificent diversity that is the United
States and mold it into a single nation? We can be one nation because
we are united by principles expressed in our founding documents, such
as liberty, democracy, and the rule of law, and not by our multiple
ancestries. We are united by our common language, English, and by our
history of constantly struggling to reach the high ideals that we have
set for ourselves as a nation.
Part of that American history is welcoming new immigrants to join our
Nation. We are unique in the world in our attitude toward welcoming
others. America is different because under our Constitution becoming an
American can have nothing to do with ancestry. That is because America
is an idea, not a race. An American can technically become a citizen of
Japan, in rare cases, but would never be considered Japanese. But if a
Japanese person wants to become a citizen of the United States, he or
she must become an American.
Recently, I was privileged to witness as 99 immigrants from 46
different countries became Americans. It was on a Constitution Day
ceremony. I have attended naturalization ceremonies in Nashville and
across my State many times in the past. It is a moving experience that
I recommend to all of my colleagues.
This naturalization ceremony a few weeks ago was a special one held
at the Jefferson Memorial. The same ceremonies are held in courthouses
across the country. I watched those 99 new
[[Page S10975]]
Americans swear an oath of allegiance to this country. It is a powerful
oath where they renounce allegiance to their former country and swear
allegiance to ours and to the Constitution. It is the oath we will
finally enshrine in law in this bill.
That oath is a part of our history. It dates back to the founding of
our Nation almost 230 years ago. Those 99 new Americans who took that
oath at the Jefferson Memorial a few weeks ago were basically taking
the same oath George Washington gave to his soldiers in revolutionary
times.
On May 12, 1778, as brave Americans were fighting for our freedom,
George Washington himself, and his general officers, signed a very
similar oath as they were camped at Valley Forge. Let me read a part of
Washington's oath. This is a copy of the oath Washington took. The
Archivist of the United States brought it to me. There is Washington's
own signature. We can imagine the circumstances and imagine the times.
It was in the early stages of the Revolutionary War. Things were not
going very well. These soldiers were camped at Valley Forge and this
was the oath Washington himself took and that he gave to his officers
and required them to sign.
I, George Washington, Commander in chief of the Armies of
the United States of America, do acknowledge the United
States of America, to be Free, Independent and Sovereign
States, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance
or obedience to George the Third, King of Great Britain; and
I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to
him; and I do swear that I will to the utmost of my power,
support, maintain and defend the United States...
That is how George Washington and his officers swore allegiance to
our country, and it has set the standard for American citizens from
that time forward. Every American should learn about that standard.
Since I was elected to this body in 2002, I have been working to
ensure that American children learn American history and civics. With
the help of Democratic leader Senator Reid and many other Senators on
both sides of the aisle, we passed legislation in December of 2003 to
establish residential academies for teachers and congressional
academies for students of American history and civics. Some are
residential academies to help teachers and outstanding students learn
more about these important subjects so they can pass it on to their
students and classmates.
This year, I hope to pass a bill with Senator Kennedy to provide for
improved testing of American history so we can determine where history
is being taught well and where it is being taught poorly so
improvements can be made. We also know that when testing is focused on
a specific subject, States and school districts are more likely to step
up to the challenge and improve performance. So we are beginning to
make progress in reaching out to our children so that they understand
what this country is all about.
There is another group of Americans we must also reach: New
Americans. Last week, there was a report in Florida of a 27-year-old
Guatemalan man who posed as an 18-year-old so he could attend public
high school and learn English there. So we know immigrants are eager to
learn our common language. That is why I, with Senator Cornyn, am
introducing this bill to help legal immigrants who are prospective
American citizens to learn our common language, our history, and our
way of governing.
The Strengthening American Citizenship Act will, No. 1, provide
education grants up to $500 for English courses to immigrants who
declare intent to become American citizens. They might use these grants
to take a class from a local nonprofit organization or a community
college. It would also allow citizenship applicants who speak fluent
English to meet the residency requirement after 4 years of living in
the United States, rather than 5.
Secondly, our legislation would help prospective citizens learn more
about the American way of life. It would do it in these two ways: One,
establishing a foundation to support the activities of the Office of
Citizenship, which is within the Department of Homeland Security, so
that organizations that want to support and cooperate in efforts to
reach out to prospective citizens can do so.
Second, it would provide for grants to organizations to provide
classes in American history and civics. While new citizens are required
to demonstrate a knowledge of American history and government in a
test, helping them access a history or civics class will allow many to
gain a richer understanding of our country and, by doing so, to feel
more at home in the United States.
The third major area this legislation covers would be to codify this
oath of allegiance which began with George Washington's oath at Valley
Forge. The oath today is written only in Federal regulations, not in
the law. This would give the oath the same standing as the Pledge of
Allegiance and the national anthem.
Finally, we should celebrate our new citizens. Our legislation would
instruct the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement a
strategy to raise public awareness of naturalization ceremonies. These
ceremonies, which happen virtually every day in the United States,
embody what it means to become an American. Every U.S. citizen, not
just those from foreign countries, ought to see one. It is my hope that
more of these ceremonies will be held in prominent locations and
televised on C-SPAN.
We also would establish an award for citizens who have been
naturalized within the last ten years and have made an outstanding
contribution to the American nation. Our new citizens are often our
best citizens, and this bill would give the President this
responsibility so that we can recognize how new Americans play a
critical role in the progress of our country.
We are a nation of immigrants. Almost all of us can trace our
ancestry to some part of the globe quite far from here. Over the coming
weeks this body will debate how to reform our immigration system. I
believe comprehensive reform must include three things: No. 1, securing
our borders; No. 2, creating a legal status for foreign workers and
foreign students whom we welcome here; and, No. 3, helping prospective
citizens become Americans.
The Strengthening American Citizenship Act fulfills that third
objective. Comprehensive immigration reform must include efforts to
help new Americans become a part of our national family.
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