What is Ronald Reagan's full quotation about anyone coming to America can be an American?

1. The full quotation as recorded in Reagan archives

The most complete, directly attributable rendering appears in official Reagan archives and reads: "A man wrote me and said: 'You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.'" This exact passage is printed in the Reagan Library transcript of his Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom and on the Reagan Foundation website ^{[2] [3] [1]}.

2. Where and when Reagan used the line

Reagan repeated this sentiment in multiple public remarks late in his presidency and in commentary tied to immigration and national identity, notably in his last speech as president and in remarks connected to the Reagan Presidential Library groundbreaking and medal ceremonies; institutional transcripts capture the language across those occasions ^{[1] [4] [2]}. Contemporary news outlets and later retrospectives cite the line when summarizing his public stance that America's strength derives in part from its immigrant heritage ^[5].

3. Variations, paraphrases, and popular shorthand

Because the sentence appears in several contexts and has been widely quoted, variations exist in circulation — shorter paraphrases such as "Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American" are common on quotation sites and social media ^[6]. Major quote repositories and educational summaries typically preserve the longer formulation that names France, Germany, Turkey and Japan before delivering the concluding assertion about America ^{[7] [8]}.

4. Context and intended meaning in Reagan’s rhetoric

In the speeches where the line appears, Reagan used it to underscore a broader argument that America’s national identity is uniquely open and renewed by successive immigrant waves, a theme he linked to U.S. global leadership and the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of welcome; the archival texts frame the phrase as part of a celebration of immigrants as "the great life force" of the nation ^{[2] [3]}. Analysts and advocacy groups see this line as central to Reagan's public case for immigration policies that recognized both assimilation and the value of newcomers ^[9].

5. Uses, political framing and competing agendas

The quote has been deployed by a range of actors for different ends: conservative commentators invoke it to argue for assimilationist immigration reforms and to recover a "Reagan" approach to the issue ^[10], while immigrant‑rights commentators and historical retellings cite it as emblematic of a welcoming American ideal ^[9]. Institutional sources that reproduce the text — notably the Reagan Foundation and Library — have an interest in preserving Reagan’s legacy and rhetorical highlights, which shapes how the line is presented and circulated ^{[1] [2]}. Quotations sites and opinion pieces sometimes truncate or paraphrase the sentence for brevity, which can flatten its situational context ^{[6] [8]}.

6. Bottom line and limits of the record

The fullest, sourced rendering of Reagan’s line is the multi‑clause passage quoting a letter and concluding that "anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American," and this wording is confirmed in multiple archival transcripts and foundation postings ^{[2] [3] [1]}. Reporting and commentary reproduce that passage consistently, though interpretation and political use vary; if additional documentary nuance or earlier drafts of the quoted letter exist, those are not present in the provided sources and therefore not addressed here ^{[7] [9]}.