[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 28 (Monday, July 16, 2001)]
[Pages 1023-1025]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at an Immigration and Naturalization Service Ceremony
on Ellis Island, New York

July 10, 2001

    Thank you very much, Mr. Attorney General. I appreciate your kind 
words, and I appreciate your service to America. My fellow Americans who 
stand behind us, congratulations.
    Just a few minutes ago, I was the leader of another country. Now 
it's my honor to speak to you as the leader of your country.

[[Page 1024]]

And the great thing about America is, you don't have to listen unless 
you want to. [Laughter]
    Governor Pataki, it's great to be with you. Mayor Giuliani, thank 
you both for your kind comments. Senator Schumer--Charles Ellis Schumer, 
who was named for Ellis Island--and Senator Clinton, thank you all for 
being here. Congressman Fossella and Congresswoman Maloney, thank you 
for being here. Assistant Attorney General Dinh, thank you for your 
service to our country. I made a great appointment when I picked him. 
Silvia Sanchez, thank you for singing the national anthem. And ladies 
and gentlemen, it is an honor to be here.
    I'm pleased to be joined by two members of my Cabinet who are 
Americans by choice, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development, Mel Martinez.
    This little piece of land, less than 30 acres in all, is like no 
other place in America. Twelve million souls arrived here and would 
speak of the experience for the rest of their lives. They remembered the 
difficulties along with the joys. They remembered the long lines--never 
longer than on a single day in 1907, when more than 11,000 new 
immigrants filed through this hall. They remembered how loud it was here 
and how confusing.
    There was no President to greet them, only people with clipboards, 
stethoscopes, and a lot of questions. A man from Italy describes seeing 
the Statue of Liberty for the first time. He said, ``The thrill was 
unbelievable--but always the fear because you had to go through Ellis 
Island.'' For all that, they kept hoping; they kept believing; and they 
kept coming. And 100 million Americans can draw a straight line from the 
life they know today to a moment in this hall, when a name was called 
and a person took the first step toward citizenship in the United States 
of America. Each of you took that first step sometime ago. Several of 
you have been here for decades.
    This group of new Americans includes students, teachers, a 
restaurant owner, a professor, a bartender, an insurance agent, a 
doctor, and a violinist. For all of you, the oath of citizenship is more 
than a formality. And today America is more than your home; it's your 
country. This is one of the things that makes our country so unique. 
With a single oath, all at once, you become as fully American as the 
most direct descendant of a Founding Father.
    The Founders themselves decided that when they declared independence 
and wrote our Constitution. You see, citizenship is not limited by birth 
or background. America at its best is a welcoming society. We welcome 
not only immigrants themselves but the many gifts they bring and the 
values they live by. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants take the oath 
of citizenship every year. Each has come not only to take but to give. 
They come asking for a chance to work hard, support their families, and 
to rise in the world. And together, they make our Nation more, not less, 
American.
    Immigration is not a problem to be solved. It is a sign of a 
confident and successful nation. And people who seek to make America 
their home should be met in that spirit by representatives of our 
Government. New arrivals should be greeted not with suspicion and 
resentment but with openness and courtesy.
    As many immigrants can testify, that standard has not always been 
observed. For those seeking entry, the process is often a prolonged 
ordeal full of complexities and burdens. I'm committed to changing this 
with INS reforms that treat every immigrant with respect and fairness.
    Today here's the goal for the INS: a 6-month standard from start to 
finish for processing applications for immigration. It won't be 
achievable in every case, but it's the standard of this administration, 
and I expect the INS to meet it.
    Not every applicant is entitled to admission, but every applicant is 
entitled to a timely and courteous review of his or her case. We can 
help legal immigrants in other ways. If a child's parent and financial 
sponsor should pass away, we should permit the other parent to take over 
as a sponsor. And in the case of a minor child, entitlement to a visa 
should be measured by the age on the date of the application, not on the 
date the INS has finally processed the visa.

[[Page 1025]]

    And we should spare families the hardship of separation while one 
member is awaiting a green card. I support providing an extension of the 
temporary window that allows people to file for legal residency without 
having to return to their country of origin. And I urge the Members of 
the United States Congress to act swiftly on 245(i) reform.
    In the life of an immigrant, citizenship is a defining event. In the 
life of our Nation, new citizens bring renewal. By taking an oath, as 
you have done today, immigrants affirm a belief in the American creed. 
For most Americans, there's no formal moment of affirmation, but to each 
of us fall the same responsibilities. Our democracy's sustained by the 
moral commitments we share: reverence for justice and obedience to the 
law, tolerance and decent respect for the opinions of others, 
responsibility not only to ourselves but for our families and 
neighborhoods, love of country shown not in prideful boasts but in 
modest gratitude, and an active concern for our Nation's future.
    That future depends on the values of self-government, our sense of 
duty, loyalty, self-confidence, and regard for the common good. We're a 
diverse country and getting more diverse. And these virtues are what 
keeps this great country together. Believing in them and living by them, 
this great land will always be united.
    When they left behind the old world, the millions who landed here at 
Ellis Island came with a vision of a better life. They sought more than 
economic opportunity, though that was surely part of it. They wanted 
more than political freedom, though that was crucial. Above all, they 
wanted the rights, the duties, and the dignity of American citizenship. 
This place is now a museum, but it stands for a living tradition. And on 
Ellis Island today, the great hope of America is renewed.
    Since becoming the President, I've gotten to do a lot of really 
fascinating things. There's nothing like--quite like the event this 
morning. So will you please join me, and rise, as we say the Pledge of 
Allegiance.
    Right hand up, please. Actually, right hand on your heart. 
[Laughter]

[At this point, the President led the participants in reciting the 
Pledge of Allegiance.]

    Congratulations.

Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the Registry Room. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gov. George E. Pataki of New York; Mayor Rudolph 
W. Giuliani of New York City; and singer Silvia Sanchez.