My name is Ronald Kochman. I am the son of immigrants who were displaced by a fascist government in Germany. My parents’ citizenship was stripped from them, and they — like so many others — were forced into exile. With most countries unwilling to accept Jewish refugees, including the United States at that time, they fled to one of the few places on Earth that would take them without restriction: Shanghai, China.

My father, Harry, arrived in Shanghai in 1939 with his parents and two brothers. My mother, Dorothy, arrived the same year with her parents and her sister. They came by boat, not knowing what waited for them on the other side of the world.

Shanghai was under Japanese occupation, and conditions were harsh. Though the Japanese did not carry out the systematic murder of Jews, they placed Jewish refugees in ghettos and imposed strict controls that made daily life extremely difficult. The overcrowding, poverty, uncertainty, and fear were overwhelming. And yet, as terrible as those conditions were, they were still better than the fate that awaited Jews in Germany and the rest of Europe.

In that time of displacement and fear, my parents met. They married in Shanghai, and in 1947 — just one year later — they finally immigrated to the United States to begin a new life free from persecution.

After arriving in America, Harry and Dorothy settled in New York. My father worked tirelessly in a display company in Manhattan. Through dedication, resilience, and an unwavering belief in the promise of this country, he eventually became the owner of that very company — something unimaginable in the world he had come from.

I was raised to believe that the United States welcomes people from all backgrounds who seek safety, dignity, and opportunity. My parents’ lives were proof that when America opens its doors, it saves families, strengthens communities, and honors its highest ideals.

The Statue of Liberty bears the words:

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"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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These are not just poetic lines — they are a promise, one that offered my family a second chance and gave me the life I have today.

I share this story because, unless you are a Native American, your family also came from somewhere else. We are a nation built by immigrants, shaped by their courage, their labor, and their hope. It is who we are.

I hope and pray that our nation continues to live by those values — the values that once saved my parents’ lives, allowed them to build a future here, and made the United States a beacon for those seeking freedom across the world.