June 2023: Immigrant Heritage Month

Posted On Thursday June 01, 2023

Contributor: The I.D.E.A Committee

Immigrant Heritage Month was established in June 2014 as part of the I Stand with Immigrants initiative, which is powered by FWD.us Education Fund. The goal of this initiative is to encourage immigrants to share their stories and demonstrate the value immigration has for the country.  Part of this initiative is the “I Am An Immigrant”  campaign and the celebration of National immigrant Month in June.   

A Few Interesting Facts: Did you know that ….

  • An estimated 40 percent of all Americans have an ancestor who arrived in the United States through Ellis Island.
  • In 1819, Congress passed a law requiring that the names, ages, and occupations of all arrivals into the United States be recorded. This law is considered the first significant legislation on immigration made by the federal government.

Highlighting a few individuals in history

  • John Muir–immigrated from Scotland in 1849 as a child. He was a co-founder of the Sierra Club and helped establish Yosemite National Park.
  • Madeline Albright, first female Secretary of State. Her family left Czechoslovakia when Hitler invaded and dissolved it.
  • Deikembo Mutombo, NBA player. He played for six different NBA teams and retired in 2009.
  • Steve Chen (Taiwan) and Jawed Karim (East Germany) co-founded Youtube!
  • Rita Moreno, (Puerto Rico). Performer who received Emmys, Grammys,Oscars and Tony awards. 

A few resources 

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