Immigrants are an integral part of our San Mateo County community. I am proud of the contributions that immigrants who reside in District 4 have made to the fabric of our county and our country.
My wife Maria is an immigrant from Mexico. On my staff, I have children and grandchildren of immigrants from Iraq, Romania, Peru, St. Lucia, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, France and the Philippines. The details of how these families came to this country and why, vary, but all of them dreamed of a better life for themselves, their children, and future generations thereafter. I am thankful that they found a home in the United States, and that their children and grandchildren serve the residents of District Four on my behalf.
On October 18, I will host the second annual San Mateo County Immigrant Integration Summit. While immigrants can and do lead successful lives here in San Mateo County and in the United States, they often face challenges – particularly the children and youth. At this Summit, we will hear about current national and local policies affecting young immigrants, and about the educational, legal, economic and social barriers that they face and how our community can support them through these challenges.
I hope you will join me at the Immigrant Integration Summit on October 18th and in supporting all immigrants, regardless of how or why they came to this Country. We all deserve to have a home here.