United States of America — How United Are We?

I love this country. It’s not just where I live—it’s the country my parents chose. They didn’t arrive by accident. They came with intent: to become Americans, to contribute, to belong. That distinction matters more today than many are willing to admit.

And right now, the United States is in trouble—not because disagreement exists (that’s normal), but because unity has been replaced with suspicion, resentment, and silence. We avoid hard conversations instead of having honest ones.

So let’s not avoid one of the biggest fault lines of all.

Let’s talk about illegal immigration—plainly, respectfully, and without slogans.

Unity Requires Shared Commitment

America has always been a nation of immigrants. That’s not up for debate.

But it has never been a nation without borders, laws, or expectations.

Legal immigration is built on a shared understanding:

You enter through a process

You accept the laws

You work toward becoming part of the country—not reshaping it to resemble what you left behind

That’s not exclusion. That’s cohesion.

Illegal immigration breaks that shared agreement, and pretending otherwise is part of why trust is eroding.

The Question We’re Afraid to Ask

Here’s the uncomfortable but necessary question:

Can a nation remain united if a growing number of people enter it without consent, without process, and without intention to integrate?

That question isn’t anti-immigrant.

It’s pro-country.

A nation is more than geography. It’s a social contract—rules, norms, responsibilities, and mutual expectations. When that contract is ignored or selectively enforced, unity fractures.

This Is Not About Hatred — It’s About Fairness

Let’s be clear:

Wanting immigration laws enforced is not racism

Expecting newcomers to integrate is not xenophobia

Defending borders is not cruelty

What is unfair:

To legal immigrants who followed the rules

To citizens who bear the economic and social strain

To communities absorbing rapid change without resources or consent

A system that rewards lawbreaking while punishing patience breeds resentment—and resentment is the enemy of unity.

Assimilation Is Not a Dirty Word

Past generations of immigrants understood something we’ve stopped saying out loud:

You can keep your heritage and adopt your new country.

Assimilation does not mean erasing culture.

It means shared civic identity.

Common language, respect for laws, shared values around freedom, equality before the law, and civic responsibility—these are not optional extras. They are the glue that holds a diverse nation together.

Without assimilation, diversity doesn’t unify—it fragments.

When Policy Avoids Reality, Division Grows

Political leaders on both sides have failed here:

One side avoids enforcement

The other avoids humane solutions

Both avoid accountability

Meanwhile, everyday Americans are told:

“Don’t notice the problem”

“Don’t ask questions”

“Don’t trust your own eyes”

That silence doesn’t create compassion. It creates backlash.

And backlash, history tells us, never leads anywhere good.

So How Does This Tie Back to Unity?

Unity requires consent.

Consent requires rules.

Rules require enforcement.

A nation that cannot say who may enter, under what conditions, and with what expectations, cannot remain united—no matter how good its intentions.

Reuniting America means being able to say all of the following at once:

We welcome immigrants

We value legal process

We expect integration

We enforce the law

We treat people humanely

We protect national cohesion

These ideas are not opposites. They are partners.

A Final Thought Worth Sitting With

My parents didn’t come here to change America into something else.

They came because of what America already was.

Unity doesn’t come from pretending differences don’t exist.

It comes from agreeing on the rules that allow differences to coexist.

If we want the word United to mean something again, we have to stop dodging the hard conversations—and start having the honest ones.

Calmly. Fairly. Together.