Happy Veteran’s Day: Immigrants of the Day — Immigrant Congressional of Honor Winners

The Cato Institute website has an inspiring story  “A Veteran’s Day Remembrance: Immigrant Medal of Honor Recipients” by Stuart Anderson, director of trade and immigration studies at the Cato Institute.  Anderson writes:

“As Veteran’s Day approaches, the time has come to pay tribute to those who have given their lives to this country, though they were not born in this country. Immigrants have received the Medal of Honor in every war since the medal was first established. To receive it, a recipient must risk his life, the bravery of his act must be considered beyond the call of duty and distinguished from other acts, and at least two eyewitnesses must have observed the act and provide incontestable evidence that it occurred. More than 20 percent (over 700) of the Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in U.S. wars have been immigrants. As the official guide to recipients notes, `Those who have received the Medal of Honor since it was established in 1861 as the nation’s highest decoration are as different as the melting pot population of our country.'” (emphasis added).

Anderson proceeds to detail the heroism of some of the Medal winners.  We honor all of the Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and name all of the immigrant recipents collectively as our Immigrants of the Day.

For a related story on the Bush administration’s efforts to ensure that immigrants in the military have a speedy path to citizenship, click here.

KJ