As America moves forward into the twenty-first century, its recent immigration patterns suggest its future demographic makeup. The US Census Bureau conservatively projects that by 2050, nearly 25 percent of the US population of more than four hundred million people will be Hispanic, largely fueled by emigration from Latin America and Mexico. To put this in perspective, in 1900, when the US population was seventy-six million, there were fewer than five hundred thousand Hispanics, or less than 1 percent. But it was a different world then.

When you look back to the Ellis Island era, you see a period in history greatly influenced by totalitarian regimes that had a huge bearing on immigration to this country. Germany and Russia alone had an enormous impact on the outcome of events in the twentieth century. The human suffering caused at their hands was both profound and incalculable, from the pogroms of the 1890s and World War I, to World War II and Stalinist Russia, Hitler's Germany, and Mussolini's Italy. Is it any wonder that those who fled the dictators and fascism of Axis countries comprise the largest portion of America's genealogical profile? How different would the face of America look today if the regimes of those countries had not so totally dominated the human landscape?

You also realize what a special breed our European ancestors were. They had to be. Theirs was a true test of Darwinism, for only the fittest survived, and those who did went on to help build this nation into an industrial and economic superpower that became the envy of the world. Their genetic code—so concentrated and so pure—gave America its ambition and work ethic, its persistence and determination, and its genius that made it a leader in all fields of endeavor, from science and technology to groundbreaking inventions that changed how we live our lives.

Over time, though, this European heritage thinned with each passing decade and year, as subsequent generations became more “Americanized” and further removed from their ethnic roots. Simultaneously, the gene pool experienced a sharp rise in new immigrants from all corners of the globe, which contributed a broader multicultural perspective and enriched the variety of the American mosaic.

We now look to these new immigrants to take the lead. To make their mark. To move this country forward in new directions and elevate us with their unique gifts and contributions. You have heard from many of them in these pages. It is up to them, and others like them, to help America redefine itself and enhance its prominence in the eyes of the world. The American Dream demands nothing less.