|
 Printer-Friendly Version
OPA News Release: [09/16/2005]
Contact Name: Kristin
Wilson
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676
Release Number:
05-1744-NAT
Former Immigrant and Naturalized Citizen, U.S. Secretary
of Labor Elaine L. Chao Addresses New Americans at Ellis Island
Secretary Marks National Citizenship Day at
Swearing-In Ceremony
WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today
delivered the keynote address to 105 New York residents who took the Oath of
Allegiance to become U.S. citizens. The swearing-in ceremony, commemorating
National Citizenship Day, was held at Ellis Island, New York.
“We are all Americans, regardless of what we look like or where we
are from, because America is the world —
representatives of all nations, cultures and races have found a home
here,” said Secretary Chao. “We are united by our common values
— love of liberty, the importance of family and an appreciation for the
great opportunities this country offers.”
National Citizenship Day was created on February 29, 1952 by a
Congressional joint resolution. Each year, the New York District of the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomes more than 70,000 New York
residents as new Americans, and more than two million people have become
naturalized citizens since 2000.
Secretary Chao also praised America's long tradition of spontaneous
citizen involvement in all aspects of life, especially to solve common
problems. “As the President has said many times, it is the compassion of
the American people that makes this country great,” Secretary Chao said.
“We have seen that spirit once again, in the outpouring of compassion and
generosity offered to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and at the National
Service of Prayer and Remembrance the President is leading today in Washington,
D.C.”
Elaine L. Chao is the nation's 24th Secretary of Labor and the first
Asian Pacific American woman ever appointed to the President's Cabinet in the
history of the United States. She immigrated to America at the age of eight,
speaking no English. She went on to earn an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business
School and has held leadership positions in the private, non-profit and public
sectors including President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of
America, Director of the Peace Corps, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, and
Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission. Secretary Chao is also the
recipient of 26 honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the
world.
| 
