A Nation of Immigrants???

“We are a nation of immigrants!” Have you ever heard someone shout this idiotic claim? I beg to differ, but it seems so elementary that it should be unnecessary. But some people are not able to think for themselves so I will explain it for them. I was born in this country. Therefore, I am not an immigrant. I am a native born citizen. I am a native American—don’t get me wrong, I am not claiming to be of American Indian heritage. Nonetheless, I am a native American. I did not migrate to this country from another country.

My parents were born here, as were all my grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and 3G-grandparents. I’m pretty sure that if I were able to document any further back than this in my family tree that I would eventually find an ancestor who immigrated to this country. But that “immigrant” status is not something that is passed down from one generation to the next. If you are born in this country to parents who are legal American citizens, then you are not an immigrant. I would hazard a guess that there are several hundred million people who meet this criterion, so to say that we are a nation of immigrants is simply idiotic. If you have ever muttered these words, think about it!