The White House released a video of staffers sharing their families’ immigration tales the day after President Obama threw his weight behind a bipartisan Senate immigration bill under consideration.
“We have all these stories, and we have this interwoven experience of having come here for a common purpose, which is to make a better life” says Monika, born in Poland, at the top of the video. “From that, we can aspire to so much as people, as immigrants, as children of immigrants, to achieve really amazing things.”
As told by staff members with roots in Korea, India, Dominican Republic, China, Philippines, Argentina, Iran, Pakistan, Italy, Mexico, and Portugal, the stories seek to remind viewers that America is a nation of immigrants, and that every office is made up of narratives just like theirs–stories of leaving home, learning English, overcoming hardships, and achieving success.
The president on Tuesday decried Republican-led efforts to strip protections from DREAMers–children who were brought to America illegally by their parents.
“This is not an abstract debate,” said the president Tuesday. “This is about incredible young people who understand themselves to be Americans, who have done everything right, but have still been hampered in achieving their American dream. And they remind us that we’re a nation of immigrants.”
Watch “Our American stories,” as told by White House staffers:
Emma Margolin
Emma Margolin is a reporter at MSNBC.com.