Hasan Minhaj Quotes

American opportunity, the treasure no thief could touch … It was the one thing he [her father] was able to promise us when he sent for us; surer, safer than bread or shelter.

Different as they may be from my parents' generation, today's new Americans still bring with them the same old fashioned family values: discipline, a sense of responsibility, an eagerness to work—to achieve ...

My parents migrated to Phoenix, AZ, in the '80s, and I watched them work tirelessly to provide for me and my siblings as they encouraged us to pursue our dreams.

I grew up believing in meritocracy and the American dream. My parents came here from India. They had no connections. My brother and I went to public schools, and both of us succeeded.

I came to this country when I was 12 years old because my parents wanted to give me new opportunities to succeed. President Obama wants everyone to have the chances I had.

My mom was very strict when I was growing up. I could not talk to boys until I was 18. I had to study and work hard.

My parents both came to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and they were deeply grateful for the opportunities this country provided. They raised my siblings and me to want to make a difference and give back. They taught us to work hard and aim high, but to also make sure the ladder was down to help others climb up.

Canada has been phenomenal to myself, my brother, my sister, their kids, my parents. They came there. They worked very hard. They came with a great education, very good heads on their shoulders with the simple thought of going there with almost nothing and just saying, 'We're doing this to give our kids the best opportunity possible.'

My parents didn't get to have a dream. Their dream was to live in a country where their kids would have choice.

My Dad used to tell us: 'En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos' 'In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could.'

I really feel that my life story is a continuation of the Great American Dream - the immigrant who comes to this country and is allowed to excel. How many other countries would let me do that?

I was taught that in this country if you work hard, you can do anything, and I don't see a lot of those principles in children's books today.

Study first, play afterwards.

A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.

I was raised by free-spirited people, though my father gave me a very strong work ethic.

In many Asian households, to not go on to higher education, that's like a big no-no. I know my parents' discouragement was for my own protection, and I'm really close to them now, but they didn't understand that there is value in this. That's because they didn't know.

My parents immigrated to the United States with $10 in their pocket and a belief that the America they had heard about really did exist as the land of opportunity.

I would say to you that Americans of Hispanic descent want desperately to give their children the chances they never had.

Coming from an African background, obviously the foundation of the family home is education, probably because my parents had to work a lot harder for everything that they've got in this country.

I am a legal immigrant whose parents went from Russia to China to Chile to finally reach the United States and thereby give me a chance to have a better life. I served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve, went to college, have a successful career and have dedicated my life to being a good citizen.

It was my family that wanted me to be a teacher. That was safe, you see. To be a painter was terrible.

On Veterans Day, I can't help think of my uncles who volunteered for the service after fleeing a brutal regime in the Dominican Republic. They hadn't been in America long, but they were already so grateful for its opportunities that they were eager to serve.

I'm very pro-American - my entire family escaped poverty in Italy because they rightly believed in the American dream.

My mom played tennis for, like, six hours a day and went to college on a tennis scholarship, because that was the way she could go to school. So they instilled in me the idea that you have to work hard for the things you want in life and never complain.

I came to America with a dream and I made it. The dream became reality. America is built for success.