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Madam Speaker, I rise today also to honor the soldiers and veterans that sacrificed so much for this nation.

In this week in which we celebrated veterans day, it is an appropriate and necessary time to reflect on that sacrifice.

And in the congress that often feels the need to scapegoat or debase immigrants, this body also forgets how immigrants enrich our lives.

I rise today to take a special moment to thank those foreign-born noncitizens who are serving in this war and have served in wars past.

In this current war, there are approximately 21,000 noncitizens in uniform. No other war has produced anywhere near as many posthumous citizens as this one.

Madam speaker, I ask you and all my colleagues to work towards civility, solutions, and humanity when we talk about immigration. Please do not play politics with the lives of current and future immigrants and their family members, like me, who are only a generation removed from the experience.