Presidential Document2023-12061
National Immigrant Heritage Month, 2023
Primary source
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Published
June 5, 2023
Signed
May 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 107 (Monday, June 5, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 36455-36457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12061]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 107 / Monday, June 5, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 36455]]
Proclamation 10593 of May 31, 2023
National Immigrant Heritage Month, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
America is more than a place; it is an idea. It is the
idea that everyone is created equal and deserves to be
treated equally throughout their lives and that
everyone should have a fair shot and an equal chance to
get ahead. That is what has drawn people to our shores
for centuries. It is what makes us who we are. And that
very idea of America has been advanced by immigrants
from every part of the world--my ancestors and yours.
Their dreams built America, and during National
Immigrant Heritage Month, we celebrate their courage.
The First Lady and I are proud descendants of
immigrants--the Giacoppas, from the northeast corner of
Sicily in Italy, and the Finnegans of County Louth and
the Blewitts of County Mayo in Ireland. Vice President
Harris was born in Oakland, California, to parents who
emigrated from India and Jamaica. Like so many who
still come here seeking a better future, our parents
and great-grandparents could not be sure what life
would bring. But they had faith that, for their
children and grandchildren, anything would be possible
in America. And they were right.
Many families also came to America in search of a
better future and the promise of the American Dream,
and each wave of newcomers brings energy and new ideas
to move our Nation forward. Today, one third of our
doctors and nearly three quarters of our farmworkers
are immigrants, and so many more are essential workers,
first responders, and military service members.
Immigrants own approximately one in five businesses,
create millions of jobs, pay hundreds of billions in
taxes, and spend even more on American goods. Almost
half of all Fortune 500 companies were started by
immigrants or their kids. Immigrants help strengthen
our diplomatic and people-to-people ties around the
world. It's simple: immigrants keep our Nation strong
and our economy growing.
That truth used to be something most of us agreed on.
President Ronald Reagan proudly signed a law giving an
opportunity to 2.7 million undocumented people to seek
permanent residence. President George W. Bush pushed
hard for comprehensive immigration reform. On day one
of my Presidency, I sent the Congress my plan that
includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, people
with temporary status, farmworkers, and essential
workers; smarter border solutions, including more
equipment and modern infrastructure; and provisions to
clear court backlogs, speed up processing, and protect
families. Let us come together again in a bipartisan
way to fix our broken immigration system for good.
[[Page 36456]]
Until the Congress acts, my Administration will keep
using every tool we have to make the system more
orderly, safe, and humane. We have announced new
pathways for nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela,
Haiti, and other countries in the region to come here
lawfully. And in May, we joined with partners across
the Western Hemisphere to launch a plan to open new
centers where people can receive help with applying to
come to the United States, rather than making the
dangerous trek at the mercy of criminal organizations
and smugglers. At home, we have expanded whistleblower
protections for undocumented workers so they too can
call out wage theft or unsafe working conditions,
improving things for everyone. And we have strengthened
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
program that for more than 10 years has allowed 800,000
Dreamers to live and work freely in the only country
they know as home. In addition, we have recently
proposed a plan to expand DACA recipients' access to
health care through the Affordable Care Act and
Medicaid.
Immigration has always been essential to America, and
this month, we reflect on the strength and spirit of
immigrants that have been passed down through families
and infused in our Nation. This spring, I had the
chance to travel back to Ireland, to walk the ground my
ancestors walked, and to celebrate the bonds that
connect us still. Over the years, stories of that place
have become part of my soul. I stood beside a cathedral
built of bricks that my great-great-great-grandfather
supplied. I imagined his son bringing his family across
the ocean during the famine of 1850, leaving all they
had known for hope on a distant shore. I remembered
stories of his son--my great-grandfather--who kept
those roots alive in Scranton, helping to found the
Irish American Association, chairing the St. Patrick's
Day Parade, and passing that pride on to his
granddaughter--my mom. It is a pride that speaks to the
history and the values that bind us: immigrant values
of hard work, dignity, and respect that I have tried to
pass on to my own children and grandchildren.
Most Americans have their own version of that same
story: ancestors who overcame incredible odds to build
new lives in this promised land and contribute to the
fabric of our Nation. And we see those same values
alive at the White House every time we celebrate our
proud immigrant communities, whose holidays and rich
cultures give new life to our Nation--including Diwali,
the Hindu festival of lights; Eid, the feast ending
Ramadan; Greek Independence Day, a celebration of
freedom and democracy; and the Lunar New Year, a
festivity committing to new beginnings. We see that
spirit of hope at every naturalization ceremony, when
we celebrate the journey completed by millions of
people whose courage and commitment have earned them a
title that is equal to that of President in our
democracy--the title of ``citizen.'' This month, we
honor our ancestors by working to keep the torch of
liberty lit and held high.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2023 as
National Immigrant Heritage Month. I call upon the
people of the United States to learn more about the
history of our Nation's diverse and varied immigrant
communities and to observe this month with appropriate
programming and activities that remind us of the values
of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
[[Page 36457]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-12061
Filed 6-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 5, 2023.
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