Kathryn Lasky Quotes

All three of the great waves of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century European immigrants to America innovated.

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.

My own grandparents came to the United States as immigrants in 1912, and they lived for some years in Italian ghettos in New York. Most immigrant groups start in ghettos somewhere, and many of them never get out.

I come from immigrant grandparents. The country would not be what it is if it wasn't for the immigrants in this country.

There's a lot of history here. In terms of Asians in this country, you have a big influx after the Cultural Revolution, a big influx after the Korean War, a big influx after the Vietnam War.

In 2009, I edited, under the aegis of the Library of America, an anthology called 'Becoming Americans: Immigrants Tell Their Stories from Jamestown to Today.' It featured immigrants from different backgrounds, from black slaves like Phillis Wheatley to Yiddish-language speakers like Henry Roth.

Now, most of the new immigrants coming to this country are from Asia as opposed to Europe.

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.

Immigration is a system and a set of policies. And immigrants are the people behind those policies and behind that system, and the human stories.

When I came to America in the '60s, it was the place to be. I wonder if I'd come here today.

It was this society and culture that among other things - including economic opportunities here and repression in Europe - attracted subsequent generations of immigrants to this country.

We are, of course, a nation of immigrants, but some of us too often forget that fact. Sometimes we forget that the question isn't when we came here, but why we came here.

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.

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

We are a nation of immigrants - all of us.

Throughout our history, Canada's immigration policy has brought people here who had a pathway to citizenship. They were - and are - nation builders. It has been supported by political parties of all stripes and promoted by successive governments over generations.

I think we forget that, for a really long time, this country has been a place that has welcomed many refugees who have made it home and have tremendously contributed to this country.

Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir.

I think when you think about immigration, what we need to do is realize that that human capital, if put in a place to succeed, will literally sacrifice everything.

As an immigrant, I am grateful for the tremendous opportunities that this great nation has afforded me and my family. I am also aware of the ongoing challenges that immigrants confront, and understand that respecting law and borders is essential for keeping America strong.

I thought it was quite wonderful coming to America. I think immigration is a very difficult thing, but America is a very wonderful place.

Britain's an island; it's always had a constant ebb and flow of immigration - it makes it a better place.

Every single immigrant is part of a larger history that needs to be communicated in all its ambivalences and complexities.

America is a country formed by diverse communities from different countries. Overall, the country is very hospitable and gives opportunities to grow. Saying that, I'd also say I'm not a 'white' immigrant; a South Asian's experience is different than, say, a European immigrant's.

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