[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[House]
[Page 29269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  (Ms. Clarke asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, just last week our Nation celebrated 
Thanksgiving. It was a time for families across this Nation to unite 
and reflect on the things we are grateful for.
  This Thanksgiving I looked around my holiday table and admired the 
diversity of my family, many of whom are natural born citizens, some 
naturalized citizens, and some Jamaican immigrants. We are a blended 
family blessed with the realization of our own American dream. I 
realized that my story enjoys a certain similarity to the first 
Thanksgiving celebration. Native Americans breaking bread with 
Pilgrims. A blending of two different cultures, one immigrant, one 
native.
  Like my family, many families across this Nation are a blend of many 
cultures and citizen status and are affected by our dysfunctional 
immigration system.
  Mr. Speaker, immigration reform is too important to be delayed. As we 
prepare to debate immigration reform, I'm working with my colleagues to 
ensure access to the American Dream. Just like you, I, too, am the face 
of immigration; all of us coming together representing the diversity of 
this great Nation, the United States of America.

                          ____________________