Oftentimes, immigration in the United States is framed around the Latino community and the US-Mexico border. But doing this erases the immigrant experience of many, and unfairly paints immigration reform as something that only affects people from Latin America. A new video from Welcome US aims to show that in the United States, immigration should matter to everyone, because most have been affected by it.
In the video – released just in time for Immigration Heritage Month – celebrities like Lupita Nyong’o, Rosario Dawson, and Wilmer Valderrama talk about how immigration adds richness to the US. “What I think is so wonderful about America is that it’s a society of immigrants,” Lupita says in the video. Expanding on that and getting to the main point of the video, Akon adds, “The notion of America not supporting immigrants to me is absurd. When you look at look at history, America was built on immigrants.”
Dressed in “I am an immigrant” tees, they encourage everyone to join this movement, which is at least 50 celebrity strong. Check out the video above, and more celebrities who are proudly acknowledging their immigrant roots below:
https://twitter.com/cristela9/status/738053942865592320
https://twitter.com/CistheKey/status/738039298142920708