Vice President Joe Biden was commencement speaker at one of the Miami Dade College graduation ceremonies this past Saturday.
The ceremony for about 2,000 graduates of the Homestead and InterAmerican campuses was held at the Kendall campus.
Biden spoke for about 15 minutes, mostly about immigration reform. He says it takes courage for immigrants to leave everything they know behind, and go to a country where they may not even know the language.
"That’s a self selection process that is generated for us," said the vice president. "The best the world has to offer. That is the secret of America."
He says the U.S. has to take 11 million immigrants out of the shadows and put them on the pathto citizenship.
"The American people agree -- 73 percent of democrats and 60 percent of republicans said, 'Act now and take these people out of the shadows,'" said Vice President Biden.
MDC grad CindyaPachon earned a bachelor's degree in education on Saturday. She enjoyed the vice president’s speech.
"He knew the crowd that he was speaking to and I really appreciated that," says Pachon.
Psychology graduate Carmen Andrade wasn’t as impressed by Biden's words.
"Politicians have a tendency to say very nice things," says Andrade. "I just hope that these things become reality."
The subject hits home for 37-year-old Andrade because her husband was deported to El Salvador in 2009. She and their three children moved over with him to keep the family together.
Andrade’s husband received his residency two years later. She did agree with Vice President Biden about immigrants coming out of the shadows in the U.S.
"Many people have fears of coming out," says Andrade. "However, we hope that ways are opened up for immigrants to achieve their true dreams."Hear the audio version of this story.
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