[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 100 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2033-S2034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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     SENATE RESOLUTION 243--RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JUNE 2023 AS 
``IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH'', A CELEBRATION OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND 
  CONTRIBUTIONS OF IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN IN MAKING THE UNITED 
   STATES A HEALTHIER, SAFER, MORE DIVERSE, PROSPEROUS COUNTRY, AND 
 ACKNOWLEDGING THE IMPORTANCE OF IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN TO THE 
                 FUTURE SUCCESSES OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, 
Mr. Cardin, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Lujan, Ms. 
Warren, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. 
Murray, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 243

       Whereas the United States is stronger if all individuals 
     have the opportunity to live up to their full potential;
       Whereas about 18 percent of health care workers in the 
     United States are immigrants, including (in order of highest 
     percentage of health care workers who are foreign-born)--
       (1) 27 percent of physicians;
       (2) 26 percent of dentists;
       (3) 20 percent of pharmacists;
       (4) 18 percent of dental assistants;
       (5) 15 percent of medical assistants;
       (6) 16 percent of registered nurses;
       (7) 15 percent of licensed practical and licensed 
     vocational nurses;
       (8) 13 percent of dietitians and nutritionists; and
       (9) 13 percent of optometrists;
       Whereas the Association of American Medical Colleges 
     attested to the Supreme Court of the United States that the 
     health care system of the United States relies on immigrant 
     health care providers in their current roles;
       Whereas immigrants working in health care professions serve 
     throughout the United States and often in rural or 
     underserved communities;
       Whereas immigrants fill approximately \1/4\ of physician 
     roles in the United States;
       Whereas immigrants working in a health care occupation 
     range from those granted temporary protected status under 
     section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1254a) or deferred action pursuant to the final rule 
     submitted by the Department of Homeland Security entitled 
     ``Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals'' (87 Fed. Reg. 
     53152 (August 30, 2022)) (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``DACA''), to naturalized United States citizens;
       Whereas more than 12 percent of the immigrants working in 
     health care occupations (310,000 individuals) are 
     humanitarian migrants, including refugees, asylees, special 
     immigrant visa holders, and parole entrants;
       Whereas 60,000 DACA recipients perform critical roles in 
     the health care industry;
       Whereas medical students, residents, and physicians rely on 
     DACA for their ability to practice medicine and provide 
     medical care to approximately 4,600 patients per year;
       Whereas, in response to COVID-19, immigrants put their own 
     lives on the line to save lives every day, working as 
     diagnostic and treatment practitioners, physician assistants, 
     physicians, nurses, health aides, nursing assistants and 
     orderlies, health care support workers, medical students and 
     residents, and health technologists and technicians;
       Whereas more than 5,200,000 undocumented immigrants, 
     including more than \1/2\ of all DACA recipients (400,000 
     individuals) and the majority of Temporary Protected Status 
     holders (more than 220,000 individuals) are considered 
     essential critical infrastructure workers;
       Whereas immigrant essential workers, including first 
     responders, health care workers, agricultural workers and 
     meat packers, child care providers, and hospitality and 
     transportation workers, have heroically helped provide 
     medical care, food, shelter, and comfort to the individuals 
     of the United States impacted by COVID-19;
       Whereas undocumented immigrants alone contribute an 
     estimated $227,000,000,000 of spending power annually to the 
     United States economy, after the payment of $49,000,000,000 
     of combined Federal, State, and local taxes each year;
       Whereas the majority of farm workers in the United States 
     are immigrants, and regardless of politics, have been deemed 
     ``essential workers'' to maintaining a safe food supply for 
     the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas immigrants have served in the Armed Forces since 
     the founding of the United States and have fought in every 
     major conflict in United States history, including the Civil 
     War, World Wars I and II, and the conflicts in Vietnam, 
     Afghanistan, and Iraq;
       Whereas immigrants have put their lives on the line to 
     protect the ideals of the United States and democracy, as 
     well as to protect the lives of the people of the United 
     States, by serving as translators and interpreters for the 
     Armed Forces, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and 
     performing sensitive and trusted activities for United States 
     military personnel stationed with the International Security 
     Assistance Force;
       Whereas immigrants who serve in emerging industries with 
     pronounced labor shortages in the United States, such as 
     artificial intelligence, that rely on science, technology, 
     engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``STEM'') skills, not only bolster the economy but also 
     enhance national security and global leadership;
       Whereas, when immigrants have a trusting relationship with 
     local law enforcement agencies, immigrants report crime and 
     work with law enforcement agencies on neighborhood crime 
     reduction strategies;
       Whereas the United States has the largest number of 
     immigrants in the world and those immigrants represent almost 
     every country in the world, contributing to the rich 
     diversity of people, cultures, cuisine, literature, art, 
     language, academia, music, media, fashion, and customs;
       Whereas the United States is more diverse than ever before 
     in its history, with greater shares than ever before of 
     immigrants from India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the 
     Philippines, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, the Dominican 
     Republic, South Korea, and Guatemala, and, since 2000, an 
     increase of more than 90 percent of Black immigrants from 
     across the African continent, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and 
     Haiti;
       Whereas Black immigrants and their children make up roughly 
     \1/5\ of the overall Black population in the United States 
     (21 percent);

[[Page S2034]]

       Whereas, in response to recent civil unrest in the United 
     States, immigrants of all backgrounds have pledged their 
     support to fight racial injustice, hand-in-hand with Black 
     immigrants, to fight for accountability from law enforcement 
     and the criminal justice system, and to demand that law 
     enforcement protect all individuals, regardless of their skin 
     color;
       Whereas celebrating the racial, ethnic, linguistic, and 
     religious differences of immigrants has resulted in a 
     unified, patriotic, and prosperous United States;
       Whereas immigration has long been one of the greatest 
     competitive advantages of the United States;
       Whereas immigrants of all skill levels have helped make the 
     economy of the United States the strongest in the world, 
     complementing existing businesses in the United States in 
     times of need and founding successful businesses of their 
     own;
       Whereas more than 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies were 
     founded by immigrants or their children, which generate 
     $7,000,000,000,000 in annual revenue and employ millions of 
     individuals in the United States;
       Whereas, although approximately 14 percent of the 
     population of the United States is immigrants, a considerably 
     larger share of the labor force (18 percent) is immigrants;
       Whereas immigrants are entrepreneurial self-starters who 
     create their own opportunity and employment opportunities for 
     others, with 13 percent of employed immigrants being self-
     employed compared to 9 percent of employed, native-born 
     individuals of the United States;
       Whereas immigrant-owned businesses provide jobs across the 
     United States, supporting the creation of additional jobs 
     through entrepreneurial activity in addition to the jobs they 
     fill within their business;
       Whereas immigrants are more likely to have advanced degrees 
     than native-born people of the United States;
       Whereas more than 1,000,000 international students are 
     enrolled in colleges and universities across the United 
     States, comprising about 5 percent of the total higher 
     education population and helping make the United States the 
     global leader in higher education;
       Whereas approximately 100,000 international students each 
     year would hope to stay and work in the United States, if an 
     immigration option were available to them;
       Whereas the immigration system of the United States has not 
     been meaningfully updated in more than 30 years and is now 
     outdated and overburdened, turning away highly skilled 
     workers and international student graduates and putting the 
     global leadership of the United States at risk;
       Whereas allowing international student graduates interested 
     in remaining in the United States to secure a permanent 
     immigration status would expand the economy by 
     $233,000,000,000 during the next decade and would help reduce 
     STEM-related talent shortages by 25 percent;
       Whereas national security experts agree that it is 
     essential for the United States to maintain its military 
     exceptionalism by being the leader in advanced technologies 
     such as artificial intelligence, cyber, quantum, robotics, 
     directed energy, and hypersonic weapons, which are all STEM 
     fields where immigrants fill dangerous labor shortages in the 
     United States;
       Whereas, due to population aging and longer life expectancy 
     of the population in the United States requiring an increase 
     in health care workers, immigrants are expected to fill a 
     crucial need in the future health care system of the United 
     States essential to keeping the people of the United States 
     healthy;
       Whereas, if undocumented individuals who came to the United 
     States as children (commonly referred to as ``Dreamers'') 
     alone were provided a pathway to citizenship, they would 
     contribute approximately $799,000,000,000 to the economy of 
     the United States during the next 10 years;
       Whereas future population growth in the United States will 
     require increased immigration, and by increasing immigration 
     substantially, will keep the United States economically 
     competitive with China and other global economies and reduce 
     future fiscal imbalances for popular programs like programs 
     under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
       Whereas, without immigration, the working-age population of 
     the United States will not grow and increasing immigration 
     will help alleviate labor shortages, easing inflation;
       Whereas significantly increasing annual immigration levels 
     would double the size of the United States economy by 2050, 
     dramatically lower the ratio of working-age individuals to 
     senior-age individuals, and increase the average income for 
     workers in the United States;
       Whereas President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., most recently 
     honored the accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices of 
     immigrants by proclaiming June 2023 to be ``Immigrant 
     Heritage Month'' and by asking all people of the United 
     States to observe June 2023 with appropriate programming and 
     activities to remind individuals of the values of diversity, 
     equity, and inclusion; and
       Whereas continued integration of immigrants from around the 
     world in a manner that encourages and facilitates a pathway 
     to citizenship, economic and social mobility, and civic 
     engagement will perpetuate the prosperity of the United 
     States and reinforce the patriotism all people of the United 
     States feel for the United States, no matter the color of 
     skin, country of origin, or religious background of the 
     individual: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes June 2023 as ``Immigrant Heritage Month'' in 
     honor of the contributions immigrants and their children have 
     made to the United States throughout its history;
       (2) pledges to celebrate immigrant contributions to, and 
     immigrant heritages in, each State;
       (3) welcomes immigrants presently in the United States and 
     individuals seeking to immigrate to the United States to 
     contribute to the health, safety, diversity, and prosperity 
     of the United States by finding their place in the vibrant, 
     multiethnic, and integrated society of the United States;
       (4) encourages the people of the United States to work with 
     their immigrant neighbors and colleagues to advance the 
     current and future well-being of the United States; and
       (5) commits to working with fellow Members of Congress, the 
     executive agencies that administer immigration laws and 
     policies, and the President to promote smart and just 
     immigration policy for immigrants presently in the United 
     States, their families, and individuals seeking to immigrate 
     to the United States in the future.

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