[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      THE ROLE IMMIGRANTS HAVE SERVED IN SERVING OUR ARMED FORCES

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, immigrants have served in our Armed Forces 
with courage and dignity since the Revolutionary War. Even today, they 
continue to defend our country's freedom. They've even earned the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, the Nation's highest military decoration. 
For example, Alfred Rascon, an undocumented immigrant during his 
service in the Vietnam War received the Medal of Honor for his courage 
and dedication to America.
  Immigrants have also reached the highest ranks in the U.S. military. 
General John Shalikashvili, an immigrant from Poland who came to the 
United States after World War II, was a former chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff.
  From 2002 to 2005, over 15,000 immigrants have served in our armed 
services and later completed their naturalization process. There are 
thousands of other success stories that we should honor. We cannot 
ignore these positive contributions and the unique and valuable 
functions that immigrants perform.
  I urge my colleagues to support a comprehensive immigration reform on 
behalf of those servicemen and women and their families.

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