'What a country!': Tom Suozzi highlights the 'immigrant experience' in Democratic National Convention speech

CHICAGO — Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi celebrated the American immigrant experience and acknowledged the challenge of bipartisan and humane solutions to the broken U.S. border as he addressed the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.

Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), a leader in his party on immigration policies, who won a special election to represent the 3rd Congressional District early this year, did not offer specific measures when he took to the stage early in the evening but instead celebrated Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her support for a border fix and humane treatment of those crossing it.

He acknowledged the U.S. southwestern border is broken, called the polarization among Republicans and Democrats "painful." He also laid the blame on former President Donald Trump, without naming him, for scuttling Senate approval for a bipartisan border security bill.

And he invoked his own family’s experience as immigrants.

"My father came from Italy as a boy, was the first kid in the neighborhood to go to college, served as navigator during World War II, came home, and at 28 was elected as the youngest judge in the history of New York State. What a country!" Suozzi said.

"The immigrant experience. E pluribus  unum. Out of many one. My family’s experience! Kamala Harris’ experience! The American experience!" he said.

Suozzi recalled how his grandfather would offer a toast to new couples: "He’d say marriage is hard sometimes but in the end 'Non c'è rosa senza spine’ — You can’t have the roses without the thorns. You have to work for it."

Suozzi said that adage applies to being a nation of immigrants.

"Tonight we celebrate the roses of life," he said, citing Americans from every state, ethnicity, race and religion.

"We come to celebrate our candidate Kamala Harris," he said, drawing applause and cheers, adding that she "joyfully accepts the challenge to work across party lines, to secure our border, to treat people like human beings and to move our country forward."

Since winning a February special election to retake his seat, Suozzi has paved a new political and legislative approach to immigration for Democrats facing political attacks by Republicans over Biden administration policies that initially led to a massive influx of migrants

Earlier Wednesday, Suozzi reflected on his unexpected re-emergence in New York politics as a congressman, two years after he chose to leave the  U.S. House, where he had served for three terms, to make a long-shot and unsuccessful campaign for governor.

"It’s a great honor," he told reporters. "I mean, listen, I was pretty much out of politics about a year ago. And now I'm speaking at the Democratic National Convention."