Obama: Immigration ‘Is Part of What Makes Us Exceptional’

“But there’s something unique about America. We don’t simply welcome new immigrants. We don’t simply welcome new arrivals. We are born of immigrants. That is who we are. Immigration is our origin story. And for more than two centuries, it’s remained at the core of our national character. It’s our oldest tradition. It’s who we are. It’s part of what makes us exceptional. After all, unless your family is native American, one of the first Americans, our families, all of our families come from someplace else. The first refugees were the pilgrims themselves.”