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I know that immigration reform is something you are working on right now, and I know it is a complex topic with legal, political, economic, social, demographic, and geographic drivers. I don't discount just how difficult it is to do even the simplest thing in Washington, let alone something as multi-layered at this. I respect that your job involves answering to constituencies, and that you you have a lot of different sets of constituencies on this issue and they're all saying different things.
That said, I hope you'll remember that, by and large, anyone who is trying to come into country possesses the kind of attitude that we need more of in our country, our communities, and our economy. For them, the American Dream evokes not cynicism or nostalgia or rebuke but longing, deep longing that is matched only by a deep desire to do whatever it takes to access it, live it, and achieve it.
My parents were immigrants. They came for grad school, but more so they came to make a new life, a better life. They were lucky to be well-educated, to come here by choice, and to have opportunities afforded them. I realize not all immigrants are so fortunate. But most all do share my parents' respect for the rule of law, their devotion to making life better for their children, and their abiding loyalty for the greatest nation in the history of mankind.
I hope to live in this country for a very long time. I'd like to stack it with as many people like my parents as possible. I'm thinking their kids will turn out alright as well, so that's not a bad thing, either.
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