Senator Kennedy and the Ongoing Battle for Social Justice

As our nation and world mourn the loss of Senator Kennedy, I'd like to honor this true American hero's contribution to the fight for social justice issues. Many of today's articles discuss the late Senator's commitment to reforming health care, and rightly so. But we must not overlook the fact that the Lion of the Senate did not limit himself only to this cause. He dedicated his public service career to the fight against all moral and social injustices. Here is one example of his work to reform our broken immigration system--an issue that touches the very core of who we are as a nation.

In the speech that follows, Senator Kennedy reminds us that, as Americans, we are fundamentally a nation of immigrants:

We cannot turn our backs on our heritage as immigrants. Not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow. They are our past, they are our present, they are our future.