I normally have a pretty thick skin. You can dislike me. You can disagree with me. You can call me an asshole. Trust me, I’ll survive. But there is one thing I never thought I would have to defend: The fact that I wasn’t born in America. Over the last few days, people have repeatedly used my immigration status against me. I’ve been called an “immigrant pretending to be a patriot.” Someone decided to announce that I’m here on a work visa. I’m not. And whether I’m a green card holder or an American citizen is nobody’s fucking business unless I choose to tell them. If you want to discuss immigration, educate yourself about it first. There are enormous differences between visas, permanent residency and citizenship. You don’t get to invent somebody’s legal status because it makes a convenient insult. But the lie isn’t what hurts. It’s the message underneath it. That because I came here from another country, my love for America somehow counts less. That I’m only pretending to be a patriot. That somebody born here has more ownership of this country in their heart than I ever could. And that one fucking hurts. I didn’t choose where I was born. But I know what America means to me. I know the gratitude I feel for this country. I know the pride I feel when I see that flag. I know what I believe in, what I stand for, and the country I chose to build my life in. I bleed red, white and blue. 🇺🇸 And nobody gets to take that away from me because my story started somewhere else. There are millions of immigrants in America with stories completely different from mine. Some became citizens. Some are permanent residents. Some are here under other lawful statuses. They have different accents. Different backgrounds. Different reasons for coming here. But none of us should ever have the word “immigrant” thrown at us like it’s something dirty. Because it isn’t. And if you have to reach for somebody’s country of origin to make them feel smaller, maybe you should ask yourself what exactly you think being American means. So this is for every immigrant who has ever been told they aren’t American enough. Every immigrant who has been mocked for an accent. Every immigrant who has been told to go back where they came from. Every immigrant who has ever felt like they had to prove they belonged here. You do not have to be ashamed of where your story began to be proud of where it brought you. I certainly fucking won’t be.🇺🇸♥️