National Immigrant Heritage Month, 2023, 36455-36457 [2023-12061]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[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 [www.gpo.gov]
[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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-12061
Filed 6-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P