Senator Celebrates Hispanic Heritage at UCC

The hallway in the student commons of Union County College was lined with students holding up flags representing several hispanic countries Monday morning. They were there to welcome U.S. Sen. Robert Menedez, who visted the campus to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month by addressing the students during an assembly.

In his first visit to the college, the 57-year-old U.S. senator began his speech by speaking in Spanish to the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom wore bright, red T-shirts welcoming him to UCC.

"We are a nation of immigrants whose stories are the fabric of this (country)," Menendez said.

He went on to speak of his family. The Democratic legislator was born to Cuban immigrants. His parents, Mario and Evangelina, fled Cuba seeking economic and political freedom from a government led by dictator Fulgencio Batista, who was overthrown in 1959 as a result of the Cuban Revolution. Menendez grew up in Union City and was the first of his family to attend college.

"Failure wasn't an option in my family," he told the students.

In addition to anecdotes about his childhood and rise up the political ladder, Menendez also peppered his speech with comments about his new book, "Growing American Roots: Why Our Nation Will Thrive As Our Largest Minority Flourishes." He also gave the audience a list of facts about hispanics in America.

"We are America's largest, and fastest-growing minority," he said, pointing out that there are 1.5 million latinos living in New Jersey. There are also 70,000 hispanic-owned businesses in the state.

Menendez went on to list some of the most prominent hispanic figures in American culture such as Judge Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and at least 11 NASA astronauts in the United States. He also mentioned several actors, actresses, singers - Shakira is his favorite - and Major League Baseball players such as NY Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The picther's name brought cheers and applause from the audience.

"It is in so many dimensions that we are contributing to the growth of America,' he said of Hispanics, also pointing out that "Latinos fought and died on both sides of the Civil War" as well as in nearly every other American-involved conflict.

"Latinas are part of everything this nation has to be proud of," Menendez said, adding that there are still challenges that the minority population must face, such as poverty.

Currently, he said, there are 6.1 million hispanic children living in poverty in the United States - they represented the largest group of poverty-stricken children in the nation.

"Each of us can do something to help us build our hispanic community," he said, stressing the importance of endeavors such as volunteering to help those in need.

He spoke briefly of his stance on immigration and of immigrant workers in the United States.

"If you had fruit for breakfast this morning, it was picked by the bent back of an immigrant worker," said Menendez, adding that he has spoked to farmers n the state who have implored him to "fix" the immigration "problem."

"The role that we play is a role that helps build the economy."

Menendez said that while he doesn' support sending U.S. troops across the border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, he does believe that some type of regulations are needed.

"No country can expect to have it's borders open and unregulated," he said.

He ended his address by speaking to the crowd in Spanish. But before that, he spoke of the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month.

"I celebrate today with renewed optimism in the resilience of the American people," Menendez said.