[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 102 (Tuesday, June 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5229-H5230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, 
the diversity visa lottery was established as a way to diversify the 
United States. Over the past 28 years, the visa lottery has helped to 
fortify the image of our country and enlarge the greatness of America 
through the immigrant population. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 
awards up to 50,000 visas each year that presents permanent residency 
in the U.S. and serves as a pathway to citizenship.
  The lottery has been imperative in creating new opportunities for 
African and Caribbean individuals seeking citizenship in the U.S. The 
proposed immigration bills today that will be coming to the floor aim 
to limit refugee admissions, eliminate the diversity lottery, and 
reduce the number of employment-based visas distributed each year.
  As Americans begin many of the pastimes of summer that are 
quintessentially American--baseball, backyard barbecues, and family 
road trips--Caribbean Americans reflect on our contributions and the 
melded culture in the United States through Caribbean American Heritage 
Month. Ironically, the bills that are coming on the floor this same 
month will end the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, which has allowed 
many Caribbean people to come and be part of the American experience.
  In a month of polarized politics and the Trump administration's 
assault on increasing diversity in this Nation, Caribbean American 
Heritage Month serves as a perfect counterpoint example to support the 
doctrine of Americanism.
  Congress and President George W. Bush adopted Caribbean American 
Heritage Month in 2006. While the act establishing Caribbean American 
Heritage Month emphasized the present influence of Caribbean Americans, 
American history would not be complete without the integration and 
support of the Caribbean people.
  From America's founding to the present, Caribbean people have 
supported and assisted in the creation of a collective American 
identity: the articulation of this Nation's rightful place in the 
world, its traditions, its language, and its cultural style.
  From Alexander Hamilton, to American Revolution Haitian gens de 
couleur libre--free men of color--fighting troops, to slave revolt 
leader Denmark Vessey, to Colin Powell's shock and awe doctrine, the 
Caribbean emphasis on revolutionary and righteous ideals enforced 
through martial action have supported American ideals both at home and 
abroad.
  In today's culture, many are surprised by the placement of Americans 
of Caribbean descent. They include former Attorney General Eric Holder 
to iconic personalities like Lenny Kravitz and Beyonce; economic minds 
such as Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic; to 
actors Kerry Washington and Jada Pinkett Smith; to athletes Tim Duncan, 
Mariano Rivera, and Carmelo Anthony; to journalist Joy Reid and U.S. 
Senator Kamala Harris.
  These scions of the Caribbean region are completely American, yet, in 
many ways, their Caribbean heritage informs and accounts for the 
attributes which have assisted them in their advancement and supported 
American greatness.
  That philosophy is borne out with recent immigrants and naturalized 
Caribbean people. According to the Migration Policy Institute, Latin 
American and Caribbean people account for the largest percent of 
foreign-born military personnel, and that group constitutes 38 percent 
of all foreign born that are in the Armed Forces.
  Additionally, according to the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau Report, about 
66 percent of Caribbean immigrants and immigrants overall were in the 
civilian labor force, compared to 62 percent of the native born.
  According to the Caribbean Policy Institute, Caribbean Blacks have 
labor force participation rates that exceed the averages for U.S. 
natives and all immigrants combined. The study from this institute has 
shown that, collectively, Caribbean people have higher median income 
earnings than all the immigrants in the U.S.
  The proposed zero-tolerance immigration policy has resulted, as we 
have seen, in thousands of children being torn apart from their 
families. Children are being held in prolonged family detention 
centers, and this bill eliminates protections that are in place to 
ensure safe and basic living needs.
  It is our duty to stop the separation of children. It is our duty to 
see that America remains great through the diversity that it entails. 
We cannot allow this bill to go forward, which would eliminate the 
diversity lottery that has created the diverse American culture that we 
have.
  Through service, through ideals, and even through protests, 
immigrants have made this a great nation.
  President Trump issued a proclamation on May 31, 2018, which stated 
that Caribbean American Heritage Month is a time in which America will 
honor America's long-shared history with our

[[Page H5230]]

neighbors, but he would appear to be ignorant of the fact that it is 
not a shared history. Our neighbor's history is our American history.

                          ____________________