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ICYMI: America’s Greatness Depends on Immigration

(Arlington, VA) – Today, Real Clear Policy published an op-ed on immigration from Daniel Garza. Below are excerpts from the piece.

 

Immigration is good for America for many reasons. One is that immigration tends to be driven by people who are ambitious and willing to sacrifice. It’s hard to pack up your life and leave your family and community behind to try to build a new life in a strange place. People who come to the United States, by and large, expect to have to adapt and work hard to succeed. Almost every American today can tell a story about an ancestor who came to our shores with little more than hope for America and a willingness to work hard and sacrifice. For the vast majority of those coming to America today, that hasn’t changed.

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America directly benefits from immigrants who establish and grow businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of people. What would we do without this initiative and ambition, to say nothing of the jobs they create for all Americans?

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The fact is, those who come here from abroad are the same as native-born Americans, at least in one key way: We all possess unique, God-given talents, which can help improve our communities and our world. What makes the United States uniquely successful is that we recognize the value and potential of individuals, empowering them to develop and use their talents for the mutual benefit of all. This is what enables America to accept the “wretched refuse” of foreign shores, and watch them succeed and prosper — a recognition that anyone can build and achieve if given the opportunity.

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It grows clearer by the day that our immigration system has problems that must be addressed — and soon. We need to protect Dreamers, and establish an orderly and compassionate way to adjudicate the claims of families fleeing violence and oppression in Central America and elsewhere. We must enhance border security, and we must review the legal immigration system in order to address the future flow of immigration and prioritize admission of those who will make our communities stronger and more prosperous.

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Read the full op-ed at Real Clear Policy here.

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