CELEBRATING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH

On 2026-06-24, Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) delivered a floor speech titled "CELEBRATING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH" in the House.

CELEBRATING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4215-H4216] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CELEBRATING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH (Ms. Barragan of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, it is Immigrant Heritage Month. This month, we celebrate what millions of Americans have been cheering: The remarkable success of the United States men's national soccer team at the World Cup. Across our country, families have gathered in living rooms and restaurants to watch Team USA compete on the world's biggest stage. As our national team inspires our country, the Trump administration has chosen a different message. Just days ago, the Department of Homeland Security posted social media messages featuring members of Team USA alongside slogans such as ``Defend the Homeland'' and ``Built the Wall.'' Think about that irony. The administration pushed anti-immigrant messaging by using the very images of a team whose success shows the very value of immigration. Many of the players on Team USA are immigrants or are children of immigrants. Several players were born outside the United States or hold dual citizenship. Their stories span continents, cultures, and generations. This is not a weakness of America. That is America. One of our team's star scorers, Folarin Balogun, is a perfect example. He was born in Brooklyn while his Nigerian parents were temporarily living in New York. Under the Constitution of the United States, he became an American citizen at birth. Today, he wears our Nation's jersey. He scores goals for our country. Yet, the same administration celebrating our players is trying to end birthright citizenship, the very principle that made Balogun an American in the first place. Now, this issue extends far beyond soccer. The Trump administration has pursued policies that make it harder for people to come here legally, harder for families to reunite, harder for refugees to find safety, and harder for talented students and workers to build their futures in our country. Across the country, communities continue to experience ruthless immigration enforcement actions that separate families, create fear, and leave children wondering whether a parent will come home at the end of the day. We should ask ourselves simple questions: Who are we losing? Who never gets the chance? Maybe it is the next star striker who would score the winning goal for Team USA. Maybe it is the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who would discover a cure for a devastating disease, like Katalin Kariko, who immigrated from Hungary to the United States for a postdoctoral fellowship. Her research made the COVID-19 vaccine possible. Maybe it is Omar Yaghi, an immigrant born to a Palestinian refugee family living in Jordan, who immigrated to the United States at 15. Professor Yaghi, of UC Berkeley, received a Nobel Prize in chemistry last year. [[Page H4216]] Maybe it is the entrepreneur who would launch the next great American company, like Sergey Brin, a Soviet Union refugee at age 6. Sergey went on to cofound Google. History teaches us that immigrants have helped build every chapter of America's success. That has driven innovation in medicine, science, technology, and industry. That is why Immigrant Heritage Month matters. It is a reminder that our diversity is not something to fear. It is one of our greatest competitive advantages. We should not be turning our backs on the very people who help make America more dynamic. The lesson of Team USA is that America succeeds because, generation after generation, people from around the world have come here, contributed here, and become part of our national story. That story is still being written. During Immigrant Heritage Month, let us reject division, and let us embrace an immigration system worthy of the Nation we aspire to be, a nation wise enough to recognize that immigrants are not a threat to America's future. They are helping to build it. ____________________