Raza Jaffrey Quotes

I never thought that I would come to live in the United States. I was not pursuing the American dream.

As you know, I'm an immigrant. I came over here as an immigrant, and what gave me the opportunities, what made me to be here today, is the open arms of Americans. I have been received. I have been adopted by America.

Some of the most important discoveries, innovations, and advances in our history have come from those seeking a new life in America.

I love the new legal immigrants; they want their kids to be safe just like I do.

Both my parents were immigrants, as were many of their friends, the parents of the children with whom I grew up. Of course I respect and admire immigrants and their undeniable contributions to America, as we all should.

Considering our history, I can think of nothing more American than an immigrant.

Millions of us, myself included, go back generations in this country, with ancestors who put in the painstaking work to become citizens. So we don't like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to American citizenship.

To be able to live and work in the United States is a privilege.

America is made up of people who came from someplace else. Even the Native Americans came over the Bering strait... America is what it is because people came from someplace else.

We need the immigrants.

Any immigration policy carries costs and benefits and that policies differ in the ways in which they distribute these costs and benefits among the native population.

Little America

We are a nation of immigrants. It is immigrants who brought to this land the skills of their hands and brains to make it a beacon of opportunity and of hope for all men.

The United States has always been energized by its immigrant populations. America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants ... They have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.

Our country is a country where immigration is history and it is a country where immigration is destiny.

We have a very positive ‘immigration problem’ in this country, in that the Latino community coming in, both legally and illegally, generally possesses a value system that is compatible with America’s value system.

We are a nation of immigrants - all of us.

I'm just trying the American dream. To work here in the U.S., you have to commit and be here. For many years, it was back and forth, back and forth, and it didn't work. But I'm always open to working in Spanish.

If I ever had to emigrate, I would probably go to America.

We want to have a system where people can come here and work - go back and forth if they want to... so that we have an open door to the people who want to come and contribute to our country, who want to come and make a difference in their families' lives and our economy.

Staple a green card to their diploma - welcome to the United States of America! We want those people in our country.

The desire from those abroad to join our ranks is overwhelming. Tens of millions have applied for the limited amount of diversity visas available every year, illustrating the demand and need to maintain this vital path to American citizenship.

Lots of migrants live in our country, and they make a significant contribution to our economy.

As an immigrant, I have lived, in a way, the American dream, and I want to make sure that opportunity is available for everybody.

We need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but that celebrates legal immigrants who come here seeking to pursue the American Dream.