My parents didn't feel that they had any choice but to…

“My parents didn't feel that they had any choice but to leave the Dominican Republic. They did, however, choose to become Americans, and they lived American values every day.”

Tom Perez

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Immigrants often face limited options but can actively adopt new national values through daily choices.

In simple terms: Immigrants can choose to live by new values.

Key Takeaway

Embrace chosen values daily.

Themes

immigration identity choice values

Mood

reflective determined

Type

narrative inspirational

When to use this quote

family decisions
citizenship ceremonies
community involvement

Key Concepts

civic integration cultural adaptation

Questions to Reflect On

How do daily actions shape national identity?
What obstacles hinder cultural adaptation?

A Different Perspective

Challenges include systemic barriers that may limit full integration.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Tom Perez

Companies are recognizing that paid leave reduces training and turnover costs, that it's a formula for recruiting and retaining good workers.

Tom Perez

I was in the U.K. and Germany and went to Volkswagen and learned about their apprenticeship model - young people become paid apprentices in…

Tom Perez

We need bold leadership to bring America back to its first principles of diversity inclusion and opportunity for everyone in every ZIP Code, and…

Tom Perez

As America prepared for war in 1941, discrimination largely shut black Americans out of job opportunities in the growing defense industry.

Tom Perez

I am proud of our diversity, and when you attack the federal workforce, you are having significant impact on women - many of whom…

Tom Perez

Here's the reality: when Hillary Clinton won the nomination, the DNC handed her insufficient and substandard tools for success.

Tom Perez

I think our big tent is our greatest strength.

Tom Perez

The best way to promote and protect opportunity is through collaboration, consensus-building, and pragmatic problem-solving. Throughout nearly 30 years in public service, I have…

Tom Perez

When you put more money in the pockets of working families, they spend it on groceries, gas, school supplies, and other goods and services.…

Tom Perez

Our universal message of access to economic opportunity resonates with the ironworker in northeastern Ohio and the immigrant in South Florida. And we sometimes…

Tom Perez

We have a long and proud tradition as a nation of investing in our human capital so that we can build a thriving middle…

Tom Perez

There's this notion out there - and it's a categorically false notion - that the only business model in the service industry is the…

Tom Perez

My father earned his citizenship by serving in the Army during World War II. He devoted his life to caring for our nations veterans…

Tom Perez

If you're one car accident away from poverty, you're on a high wire without a safety net. And that's a challenging proposition.

Tom Perez

We're building a movement. It's undeniably a work in progress, but there's a fundamental desire to see capitalism to do something different.

Tom Perez

Explore all 153 Tom Perez quotes

More American quotes

I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.

Agnes Varda

William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…

Alice Munro

I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.

Stephen Vincent Benet

I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…

Jade Bird

I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.

H. W. Brands

Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.

Jake Auchincloss

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…

Dan Lipinski

Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…

William Saroyan

When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…

Nick Park

Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.

Kerry Kennedy

France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…

Tyler Cowen

New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…

Jason Whitlock