WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said immigration is the United States’ oldest tradition and part of what makes the country exceptional. Obama implicitly drew a contrast with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called for walling off the Mexican border and temporarily banning Muslim immigrants.
In his remarks, the president compared Syrian refugees attempting to escape nearly five years of civil war to Jewish refugees who came to American during World War II. Obama also said that Donald trump has forgotten that all Americans are sons of Refugees.
Speaking from a lectern placed in front of a display of the Constitution, Obama said the nation’s first immigrants were the pilgrims and that eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were immigrants.
Obama described various ways that immigrants and refugees contribute to the fabric of America, saying immigrants are more likely to create jobs by starting their own businesses.
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He said many of the Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants or the children of immigrants.
“Immigrants are the teachers who inspire our children and they’re the doctors who keep us healthy,” Obama said, noting that many also serve in the military, “often risking their lives for an America that isn’t even their own yet.”( Al Jazeera)