[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5085-5086]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     THE NATURALIZATION OF THE HASAN FAMILY OF MILLTOWN, NEW JERSEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues who were Members of this body 
some 10 years ago may recall my coming to the floor on behalf of my 
constituents, the Hasan family of Milltown, New Jersey--Durre, Nida, 
Asna, Anum, and Iqra Hasan. They lost their husband and father, Waqar 
Hasan, on September 15, 2001, 4 days after the tragic events of 
September 11. That night, an angry man walked into Waqar's convenience 
store in Dallas, Texas. He ordered two hamburgers and shot the 46-year-
old husband and father in the face.

[[Page 5086]]

  This was not a robbery gone awry. It was a deliberate act of hate 
based on Waqar's heritage and physical appearance. When asked by police 
why he shot Waqar, the shooter expressed no remorse. He said, ``I did 
what every American wanted to but didn't.''
  When Waqar Hasan came to the United States from Pakistan in 1993, he 
did so in search of a better life for his family. After working in New 
Jersey, he took an opportunity to run a store in Texas and was going to 
bring his family to join him after he was established. The Hasans 
epitomized the hardworking, optimistic spirit that immigrants always 
brought to this country. They were on the path to permanent residency 
and, eventually, American citizenship when Waqar lost his life for no 
other reason than that he was a Muslim and that the murderer thought 
Waqar had a Middle Eastern face.
  It looked at that time as if Waqar's death ended the family's path to 
citizenship. The widow and four school-aged girls were subject to 
immediate deportation. After exhausting all legal and administrative 
options to allow Durre, Nida, Asna, Anum, and Iqra to remain in the 
United States, I determined that a private bill was the only possible 
course of action. Finally, in 2004, Congress passed and President Bush 
signed this private bill into law, giving the family a path to their 
dream. A few weeks ago, the Hasans took the oath of U.S. citizenship in 
our New Jersey congressional office. These five remarkable women had 
endured a long, arduous pathway from tragedy to citizenship. They 
formally tied their futures to the United States of America.
  In a real sense, though, this naturalization ceremony was about the 
United States of America as much as it was about these five women. 
These five women were tied to America long before they took their 
oaths. They considered themselves Americans, and the United States of 
America had an obligation to them for many years.
  At the ceremony, we saw hope coming out of tragedy--a fair result out 
of an insane injustice--and compassionate concern out of impersonal 
laws and regulations. The United States intends to provide and strives 
to give hope, fairness, and compassion, but these are not automatic. 
Cruel fate or happenstance often threatens to crush hope and 
opportunity. Irrational human passions and prejudices can thwart 
justice and fairness. The demands of life in a busy, complicated 
society and the exigencies of a complicated legal code can crowd out 
compassion.
  In 2001, all across America, Americans reacted in dismay when they 
heard the news of the hate crime.

                              {time}  1020

  When they learned that the murderer committed his brutality in 
retaliation for the September 11 attacks in an act of twisted 
patriotism, they knew it was a blot on our country. Americans felt the 
pangs even more deeply when they learned that Waqar Hasan left behind a 
struggling widow and four little girls.
  For most Americans, that was the end of the story as they went back 
to their busy lives. They thought the wheels of justice will turn and 
take care of this. They didn't think about the United States' 
obligation to this family, nor did they consider how impersonal the law 
can be. On March 16, finally, hope, fairness, and compassion prevailed. 
It was wonderful and heartwarming.
  The people of America and our government have an odd attitude toward 
immigration and immigrants. Often forgetting our own origins and even 
our own best interests, we resist diversity and even lash out at 
others, like ourselves, because we mistakenly think they are not like 
ourselves. Our country has a founding commitment and a history of 
openness, punctuated, I must say, with instances of rejection, bias, 
and hatred. The historical record is very clear that openness towards 
immigrants and policies of inclusion have greatly benefited us. Human 
prejudices sometimes break through. We see it even today. But with this 
oath of citizenship, the aspirations of Waqar Hasan for his family were 
realized.
  We mustn't forget that year by year over the centuries, the United 
States of America has moved by means of laws to overcome these 
prejudices of humans and the impersonal forces of society to create an 
opportunity and to create fairness.
  We must lift our lamp by the golden door, but also keep the door and 
our hearts open.

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