As of 2021 45 million of the 333 million population of the US are immigrants. In 2022 USCIS reported nearly 1 million new citizens naturalized across the country with a new path opened for voting, retirement, travel, general rights, and opportunities the US only holds for those with citizenships.
As a recent citizen, I often ask myself – what is the responsibility of immigrants with a US citizenship? Is it our responsibility to simply act as law-abiding citizens? Contribute to the economy? Uphold laws?
Or, is it my duty to fight for the rights of immigrants who, documented and undocumented, live in this country? Is it my responsibility to use my newfound vote in local, state, and government elections to uphold and advance the rights of immigrants in this country?
My family immigrated to the US from Russia in the early 2000s after winning the green card lottery. To give some perspective on just how unlikely this was, the green card lottery for international citizens living outside of the US, also known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program reached a 22 million application amount in 2017. In 2023 5,513 Russian citizens won the green cards with only 20,000 total cards awarded in Europe. To put it plainly, it is very damn unlikely!
Now, having successfully obtained citizenship, a top education from a top US University, and living in what most people around the world would consider “success” is it not our responsibility to ensure other young people are afforded the rights and ability to pursue the same opportunity?
Throughout the last two presidential elections we have seen naturalized immigrants of this country vote both ways, most separating those who came legally to this country from those who came without proper documentation, often driven by the need to leave their homeland. But isn’t this why all of us immigrated one way or another? At the end of the day were some of us just more lucky in the lottery of visas and paperwork than others?
It is a scary realization that a draw from a hat could have reversed our places, I could be either struggling to make a living in Russia locked in a country of dictatorship and censorship, or trying to stay outside of it by any means necessary. Maybe I would be applying to every job I could find that would sponsor a visa for me in the US.
We will always be different from those who are born in the US and have grown up surrounded by second, third, and fourth-generation Americans. While a large portion of American voters see immigrants as new workers, new cultures, and an increase in population, we can not help but have other feelings associated with immigration. While the worlds we live in are beautiful, we are forever stuck between them and have a feeling of indebtedness to those who allowed us to be here. Politically, we will never be seen the same by the US government, nor are we currently represented.
To be president in this country you have to be a US-born citizen, and being US-born is almost a requirement for holding political office. Only 3% of all voting members across legislative chambers are immigrants with 17 of 18 in the House of Representatives. This is compared to the nearly 14% (ACS) of the US population that is foreign-born. We are a vote they try to win while putting very few immigrants in power.
At the end of the day, the work our parents or we did to immigrate to the US and find a path to citizenship comes with strings attached. It is the strings of all the others who are working to keep their families in the US through asylum, work visas, and businesses. We are not only privileged with the opportunity to choose those who lead us but also hold the responsibility to ensure the proper treatment of all migrants to the US.
Author: Vicka Ter-Ovanesyan