This Oct. 3 marked the 50th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA).

The law is significant to immigrants who have come to the United States in the past five decades.

Next to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I would consider the INA the third most important civil rights law passed by Congress in the 1960s.

The INA quickly transformed the ethnic portrait of the United States, and more particularly, here in Hawaii.

The 1965 law eliminated the national-origin quotas and relied on a preference system focused on immigrants’ family relationships with U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, or their skills.

It banned discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas based on race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.

Prior to the INA, the national-origins quotas created a preference for immigration from countries in Northwestern Europe, some restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and tightly restricted immigration from Asian countries.

The European and Canadian share of legal immigrants fell from 60 percent in the 1950s, to 22 percent in the 1970s. In comparison, the Asian share of legal immigration rose from 6 percent in the 1950s, to 35 percent by the 1980s and 40 percent in 2013.

In Hawaii, the largest increase can be found in the Filipino immigrant population, which propelled the Filipino population from the fifth-largest minority population prior to 1965 to the third largest in 2010 (based on the last census).

The primary reason for this increase is that immediate family members (children, spouses and parents) were not subject to the 20,000 visas per country and were able to unite with their family once an immigrant visa petition was filed by the U.S. citizen family member.

I was one of the beneficiaries of the INA when my mother petitioned me to join her and my two sisters, arriving in Honolulu on Thanksgiving 1967.

It was through INA that I was able to quickly reunite with her — less than a year after being petitioned.

Many of the younger generations of immigrant families are not aware that the demographic diversity of our state population today in many ways is the direct result of INA, which had been championed by President John Kennedy and after his death was supported and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson at the foot of the Statute of Liberty on Oct. 3, 1965.

Google the history of INA and one might see a photo of the signing ceremony where Hawaii’s then-junior U.S. senator, the late Daniel Inouye, was among those witnessing the signing of the bill.

Pope Francis’ address to Congress during his recent visit highlighted the important role that "foreigners" played in our country. He reminded us that almost all of us were descendants of foreigners, and long-time permanent residents were once "foreigners."

His remarks about our country being the land of dreams and opportunity is as true 50 years ago as it is today.

We in the Aloha State should be particularly proud to produce national leaders who were descendants of immigrants such as the late Sen. Inouye, current Sen. Mazie Hirono, former joint military Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, Army Gen. Antonio Taguba the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, and many more who are serving in our national and state government.

We are indeed a nation of immigrants, and our common yearning to fulfill our dreams and be given the opportunity to do so is what makes this the greatest country on Earth.

We must treasure the contribution of various immigrant groups that come to our shores, for only then will we realize that our shared values, dreams and goal, and yes even our diversity, is what unites us all.