It's just a cover story for political correctness. Note that the seventh-grader recognized this right away:
"More people of different heritages might feel more welcome now, not like they have to feel like they’re just American”
you are going on the assumption that the quote wasn't fabricated by the author of the piece to fit the theme of the article.
My long-held and often verified belief is that most if not all non-attributed quotes or attributed quotes from non-public persons are blatant fabrications written to meet the bias/theme of the piece. I have personally seen my own name next to propagandistic things I NEVER said in a company newsletter when I worked at UPS, and have seen similar situations in print newspapers.