Honoring the Contributions of Immigrants Serving in the Military

President Barack Obama listens as Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security administers the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony in the East Room of the White House, July 4, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

On this Veterans' Day, our country will honor and recognize the contributions that our service men and women have taken to ensure peace and freedom around the world. These service men and women have answered the call to duty and have contributed to making our Armed Forces the finest the world has ever seen. The success of our military, and indeed, our nation as a whole, is rooted in the courage, spirit and sacrifice demonstrated by generations of immigrants who have responded valiantly to the call to duty.

Our American journey, our success, would simply not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have come to our shores from all corners of the globe. They have tirelessly fought for American independence and defended our ideals, since our earliest days as a nation. Currently, we have more than 30,000 lawful permanent residents who are serving in our Armed Forces. This Administration recognizes the selfless commitment of many individuals who defend a country in which they are not yet citizens. On Veterans' Day -- and every day -- we thank all our veterans, including those who are immigrants, for protecting and strengthening a homeland they valiantly served, even before they were recognized on paper as being American citizens.

President Obama has continued to support immigrants serving in the Armed Forces through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) initiatives that streamline procedures and help qualified individuals navigate our complex immigration system. Since 2002, more than 102,000 men and women, including individuals serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Germany, Japan and elsewhere, have become citizens while wearing the uniform of the U.S. military. Additionally, more than 9,000 Afghans -- over 6,000 since last October -- who have worked for the United States in Afghanistan have benefited from the Special Immigrant Visa process. We have the highest respect for these men and women who take enormous risk in supporting our military and civilian personnel.

From now until November 14, USCIS will welcome more than 3,000 new U.S. citizens at nearly 40 naturalization ceremonies nationwide. Last week, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, USCIS Director León Rodríguez administered the Oath of Allegiance and presented the candidates for naturalization at a ceremony for military members and their families whom we can now proudly call our fellow Americans. This event also commemorated the U.S. Marine Corps' 239^th birthday and their importance to our nation.

Other highlights include ceremonies at:

• Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. on Nov. 7;
• Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 7;
• Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida, on Nov. 10; and
• Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada on Nov. 11.

In addition, the White House will meet with military service members, veterans, and their families who flew to DC this week to share their stories about ways they are directly impacted by our broken immigration system.  The effort known as "Veterans 4 Reform" was established to advocate for immigration reform from a military and veteran perspective.

At a Fourth of July naturalization ceremony held at the White House earlier this year, the President spoke to the rich tradition of service and sacrifice made by service men and women, and military spouses:

Each of you has traveled a long journey to this moment -- journeys that began in places like Jamaica and Germany, China and Guatemala. And yet somehow -- either because your parents brought you here as children, or because you made the choice yourselves as adults -- you ended up here, in America. And then many of you did something extraordinary:  You signed up to serve in the United States military.  You answered the call – to fight and potentially to give your life for a country that you didn’t fully belong to yet.  You understood what makes us American is not just circumstances of birth, or the names in our family tree.  It’s that timeless belief that from many we are one; that we are bound together by adherence to a set of beliefs and unalienable rights; that we have certain obligations to each other, to look after each other, and to serve one another.

Immigration revitalizes our nation and positions our nation to lead in the 21st century, including our Armed Forces. These are some of the many reasons the President still believes it is critical to pass commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform.

The Senate immigration reform bill (S. 744), would continue to strengthen border security, create a path to earned citizenship for undocumented immigrants, hold employers accountable, and modernize our legal immigration system so that it better meets the needs of families, employers, and workers. Key provisions of the legislation would have significant and lasting benefits for the Armed Forces. For example, DREAMERS would be provided an expedited path to citizenship under the legislation and would increase the military’s pool of eager and talented youth.

The President has vowed to fix as much of our immigration system as he can on his own, while we continue to urge Congress to work with us to pass legislative reform.

On this Veteran’s Day, we come together as a nation to honor our veterans -- including our immigrant veterans. We thank them once again for their service, dedication and sacrifice to our great nation.

Helping Those Who Help Themselves

Les Lak is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

My grandparents came to this country from Poland with nothing but the clothes on their backs, a strong work ethic, and desire for a better life. Today, their children and their children’s children are part of the backbone of this country. Because of the struggle of my grandparents, I can empathize with our employees at Blasch Precision Ceramics who are immigrants. We currently employ immigrants from countries all around the world, including Sudan, Yemen, Russia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many of these people endured – and still endure – the same challenges that my grandparents endured almost a century ago. We are passionate about providing our employees with tools necessary to becoming U.S. citizens.

The Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County have played a key role in opening the door of opportunity to those who work for us looking for a better life in the United States. Founded in 1968, Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County (LVORC) is a nonprofit volunteer organization helping hundreds adults, families, and children learn how to read, write in, and speak English. Blasch works closely with our local chapter to provide workplace literacy instruction to our foreign-born workers. We understand that providing this service has enormous benefits to both the employees and Blasch. Employees participating in these classes increase are motivated to contribute more to the success of Blasch, ultimately contributing to our bottom line.

As part of this program, employees are able to take advantage of citizenship preparation classes, civics classes, computer training, money management training, high school equivalency instruction, and math tutoring. Because of this extensive training, six of our current employees have received their U.S. citizenship.

We feel that it is important to recognize the sacrifices and struggles that our immigrant employees faced just getting to the United States. From the beginning, they have demonstrated a strong will and determination to succeed.

The sheer number of people that this program touches makes it a real feel-good story. Employees hail from war-torn countries seeking better lives. Volunteers give up their own time to help them prepare for citizenship. This is their award, too.   

I have gotten to know many of our employees. They tell me about their families, their countries, how well their kids are doing, their hopes and dreams.  I highly respect them and enjoy hearing their success stories.  This award is their story, and it is the same beautiful story played out over decades by millions seeking a better life who have helped make America great.

Les Lak is the Vice President of Operations and Systems at Blasch Precision Ceramics in Albany, NY. 

The U.S. Opens Its Doors, But Its Citizenry Welcomes Us In

Teresita Wisell is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

Over 50 years ago, my parents left their home in Cuba to start their lives again in the United States with their young family.  I was only a toddler at the time, but as I grew up, I joined countless conversations during which my parents voiced their appreciation for the welcoming spirit of the individuals who helped them become contributing citizens of their adopted country.  My parent’s courage and achievements have inspired me to “pay it forward”, and I am honored to be named a White House Champion of Change.

Today, community colleges are strategically positioned to play a critical role in supporting the full integration of the thousands of immigrants that we serve every day.  Through community colleges, new Americans can gain access to higher education, workforce training and English as a Second Language programs.  Moreover, community colleges partner with local organizations, government, and businesses to create pipelines of education and services to the immigrant community that not only serve these individuals but enhance the workforce and support the local economy.

In September 2010, after several years of research and planning, Westchester Community College opened its Gateway Center, a multi-use facility that houses several academic departments and workforce training initiatives.  The Gateway Center was established to serve as an educational resource to the increasingly diverse population of Westchester County, in which one in every four residents is foreign-born.  Shortly after opening, plans were underway to provide free citizenship education to our English language learners, their families, and members of the community.  In spring 2011, our Welcome Center began to offer these classes.  To date, over 250 individuals have taken the citizenship education classes. Of those who have taken classes, approximately 60% have taken the exam and 96% of those students have passed.  We are proud of our part in these achievements but want to do more!

Last summer, the college became the National Immigration Forum’s first New York area partner in the New American Workforce project.  As such, we have extended our role in citizenship education to offer classes to our eligible employees and collaborate with our business partners to support their employees through work-based English language classes and citizenship preparation. Collaborations like these help support the fullest integration of our county’s residents and honor the contributions that immigrants make to our communities.

My parents are examples of such efforts, made by individuals who recognized the value of supporting their new neighbors as they sought to become citizens of their adopted country.  It is in tribute to those countless “champions” that have come before us and to those “champions” with whom I have the privilege to work every day that I accept this White House Champion of Change award.

Teresita Wisell is Vice President and Dean for continuing Education and Workforce Development at Westchester Community College, SUNY.