Immigration Quotes: 60 Popular Quotes on Immigration by Well-Known Figures

Quotes About Immigration

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The following immigrate quotes are coming from well-known figures that are great to read.

• “Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.” ― Senator Robert F. Kennedy

• “We came to America, either ourselves or in the persons of our ancestors, to better the ideals of men, to make them see finer things than they had seen before, to get rid of the things that divide and to make sure of the things that unite.” ― President Woodrow Wilson

• “Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved the oceans – liberty-loving risk takers in search of an ideal – the largest voluntary migrations in recorded history… Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” ― President George H.W. Bush

• "Mr. Speaker, our Nation depends on immigrants’ labor, and I hope we can create an immigration system as dependable as they are." ― Luis Gutierrez

• “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respected Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges...” ― President George Washington

• “What has happened to us in this country? If we study our own history, we find that we have always been ready to receive the unfortunate from other countries, and though this may seem a generous gesture on our part, we have profited a thousand fold by what they have brought us.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

• “More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people. Bearing different memories, honoring different heritages, they have strengthened our economy, enriched our culture, renewed our promise of freedom and opportunity for all...” ― President Bill Clinton

• “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

• “Remember, remember always, that all of us, you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” ― President Franklin D. Roosevelt

• “We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.” ― Senator Mitt Romney

• “We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” ― Jimmy Carter

• “Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.” ― President John F. Kennedy

• “They are willing to fight for a country that they weren’t even citizens of. I wish all Americans felt that way about their country.” ― Captain Kirk Thorsteinson

• “People come here penniless but not cultureless. They bring us gifts. We can synthesize the best of our traditions with the best of theirs. We can teach and learn from each other to produce a better America...” ― Mary Pipher

• “I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.” ― President George Washington

Positive Immigration Quotes

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When talking about immigration, you can’t deny that there will be a debate on whether or not it’s a good thing. To learn about it, you’ll have to get through many understandings.

To help you understand a bit, we’re bringing positive immigration quotes that tell you that immigration is a thing that’s good. Let’s take a look at them:

• “Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.” ― Carlos Fuentes

• “And then it occurs to me. They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as unmindful of all the truths and hopes they have brought to America. They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in fractured English. They see that joy and luck do not mean the same to their daughters, that to these closed American-born minds "joy luck" is not a word, it does not exist. They see daughters who will bear grandchildren born without any connecting hope passed from generation to generation.” ― Amy Tan

• “God created every man to be free. The ability to choose whether to live free or enslaved, right or wrong, happy or in fear is something called freewill. Every man was born with freewill. Some people use it, and some people use any excuse not to. Nobody can turn you into a slave unless you allow them. Nobody can make you afraid of anything, unless you allow them. Nobody can tell you to do something wrong, unless you allow them. God never created you to be a slave, man did. God never created division or set up any borders between brothers, man did. God never told you hurt or kill another, man did.” ― Suzy Kassem

• “We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” ― Jimmy Carter

• "When I think of immigration, I want to think of families. I want to think of unity. I want to think of a safe place, you know, free of persecution, a place where we can welcome a child that is hungry." ― Rashida Tlaib

• "There should not be a question of legal or illegal immigration. People came and immigrated to this country from the time of the Indians. No one's illegal. They should just be able to come." ― Linda Ronstadt

• "Our immigration policy should be based in compassion and a desire to help the other." ― Ilhan Omar

• "I support concrete and progressive immigration reform based on three primary criteria: family reunification, economic contributions, and humanitarian concerns." ― Jeff Bingaman

• "We deserve quality jobs that pay a living wage, lower college tuition, action on climate change, and comprehensive immigration reform." Joe Garcia

• “The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources ― because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.” ― President Lyndon B. Johnson

• "Immigration should be enforced in a proportional and humane manner." ― Roger Mahony

• "Immigration is one of the leading contributors to population growth." ― Paul Watson

• "I had fought against the unjust restriction of immigration." ― Emanuel Celler

• "While I support immigration regulated through a legal framework, I do not support rewarding those who broke the law to get here." ― Kit Bond

• "Immigration is a good thing. We should make that as easy as possible." ― Gary Johnson

Obama Immigration Quotes

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After doing researching, here are immigration quotes stated by Barack Obama during his presidency:

• "When states like Alabama and Arizona passed some of the harshest immigration laws in history, my Attorney General took them on in court and we won."

• “A child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child.”

• "My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too."

• “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”

• "America has nothing to fear from today's immigrants."

• "Increasing the legal fees on immigrants is not helping."

• "Immigrants are scapegoats for high unemployment rates."

• "Reform must include more border security, and border wall."

• "Let's be a nation of laws AND a nation of immigrants."

• "Give immigrants who are here a rigorous path to citizenship."

• "Comprehensive solution includes employers & borders."

• "Support the DREAM Act for the children of illegal immigrants."

• "Solve the driver's license issue with immigration reform."

• "Encourage every student to learn a second language."

• "Recognize the humanity of immigrants: Todos somos Americanos."

Ronald Reagan Quotes on Immigration

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We also have found Ronald Reagan quotes on immigration below:

• "I received a letter just before I left office from a man. I don’t know why he chose to write it, but I’m glad he did. He wrote that you can go to live in France, but you can’t become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Italy, but you can’t become a German, an Italian. He went through Turkey, Greece, Japan and other countries. But he said anyone, from any corner of the world, can come to live in the United States and become an American." Ronald Reagan

• "I supported this bill. I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even though sometimes back they may have entered illegally."

• "For one, we very much need in any immigration bill - we need protection for people who are in this country and who have not become citizens, for example, that they are protected and legitimized and given permanent residency here. And we want to see some things of that kind added to the immigration bill."

• "But the simple truth is that we've lost control of our own borders, and no nation can do that and survive."

• "Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status. At the same time, in so doing, we must not encourage illegal immigration."

• "When the Labor Department is forced to relent and let these visitors do this work it is of course all legal. But it makes one wonder about the illegal alien fuss. Are great numbers of our unemployed really victims of the illegal alien invasion or are those illegal tourists actually doing work our own people won't do? One thing is certain in this hungry world; no regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the field for lack of harvesters."

• "I believe we must resolve the problem at our southern border with full regard to the problems and needs of Mexico. I have suggested legalizing the entry of Mexican labor into this country on much the same basis you proposed, although I have not put it into the sense of restoring the bracero program."

• "Some months before I declared, I asked for a meeting and crossed the border to meet with the president of Mexico. I did not go with a plan. I went, as I said in my announcement address, to ask him his ideas - how we could make the border something other than a locale for a nine-foot fence."

• "In 1992, the federal Government actually issued more work authorizations to immigrants and temporary foreign workers than the net number of new jobs created by our economy. Something is fundamentally wrong when we have millions of American citizens and legal residents begging for jobs, and yet we are admitting thousands and thousands of immigrants a year with virtually no consideration to our employment needs or their employment skills."

• "The ongoing migration of persons to the United States in violation of our laws is a serious national problem detrimental to the interests of the United States."

• "Let's face it.., our current [immigration control] system is like a busy intersection without a traffic cop: sure there are laws on the books, but absent enforcement, there are too many accidents."

• "Sixty percent of our immigrants are admitted merely because they have relatives here. Many of these people are not immediate relative, but are part of extended families. The nepotistic U.S. policy lets in relatives then lets in the relatives' relatives, and so on, creating an endless and ever growing chain of new immigrants."

• "We have consistently supported a legalization program which is both generous to the alien and fair to the countless thousands of people throughout the world who seek legally to come to America. The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans."

• "Congressional mistakes have dramatically increased immigration through a series of what I believe were ill-advised actions going back to 1965 when the basic notions of our immigration laws were revised. In 1990, Congress opened the floodgates by passing a 35-percent increase in legal immigration."

• "Our country and state have a special obligation to work toward the stabilization of our own population so as to credibly lead other parts of the world toward population stabilization."

• "...I believe that it is not enough, as I said, to tinker at the margins of U.S. immigration law... the United States must institute comprehensive reforms that conform to the realities of the era in which we live."