LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act of 1965 which was signed into law by Presi-
dent Lyndon B. Johnson on October 3, 1965

WHEREAS, It is the duty of this Legislative Body to recognize and duly
acknowledge the important moments in American life when our great nation
realized the ideals of its founders; and
WHEREAS, On October 3, 1965, a major step was taken when President
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 at
the Statue of Liberty, which had been introduced by Representative Eman-
uel Celler of New York and Senator Philip Hart of Michigan and passed
both Houses of Congress with bipartisan support; and
WHEREAS, This legislation ended a system of immigration quotas in
place since the 1920s, which had capped immigration from any country to
the United States at two percent of the population born in that country
living in the United States in 1890, allowed only 150,000 immigrants to
enter the United States in any given year, and had come to be widely
viewed as discriminatory, arbitrary, isolationist, and an impediment to
commerce; and
WHEREAS, The doors to pursuing the American Dream have been opened to
more than 30 million New Americans in the intervening decades since
1965, with nearly 90% of all new immigrants coming from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America in 2013 as opposed to only 24.5% in 1960, and New
York's immigrant population is second only to California's as of 2013,
according to the Migration Policy Institute; and
WHEREAS, According to the Migration Policy Institute, the percentage
of foreign-born Americans increased from 4.7% in 1970 to 13.1% in 2013;
more than one in five New Yorkers is foreign-born, and, according to the
History Channel, the United States increased its nonwhite share of its
population from 15% in 1965 to 33% in 2009; and
WHEREAS, The Great State of New York and the United States of America
are made whole and rise to their potential as beacons of freedom in the
world through the diverse heritage of their peoples, and as George Wash-
ington once stated, "I had always hoped that this land might become a
safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of
mankind, to whatever nation they might belong."; and
WHEREAS, Immigrant workers are estimated to contribute $1.6 trillion
(or 11 percent) to US GDP growth every year, according to a report by
the Center for Immigration Studies, and immigrant workers increase
profits to enterprises by more than what is paid to them, creating a
beneficial surplus of capital in the economy; and
WHEREAS, The United States is and always has been a nation of immi-
grants and this is reflected in the numerous immigrant-founded major
companies around the country, such as: Google, AT&T, Yahoo, EBay,
DuPont, Pfizer, Intel, and, according to Forbes, 40% of Fortune 500
companies having been founded by either immigrants or their children;
and
WHEREAS, The fact that almost every person born in the United States
today is descended from immigrants, many of whom sought refuge from
persecution, freedom to achieve the American Dream, and the spirit of
adventure, has made the United States the freest, most prosperous, most
diverse and open society in human history; and
WHEREAS, The central importance of the Immigration and Nationality Act
of 1965 to this story's continuation into modern times is cause for
celebrating the fifty years of openness and pursuit of the Founding
vision that has characterized present-day American immigration; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act
of 1965 which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on
October 3, 1965; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The United State Citizenship and Immigration Services Office
in New York City.