Cover Photo: A poem written on one of the barrack walls at Angel Island Immigration Station | Photo by Teow Lim Goh
A poem written on one of the barrack walls at Angel Island Immigration Station | Photo by Teow Lim Goh

On Borders and Citizens

“My US citizenship is a kind of bulwark. It is not a guarantee of protection.”

photo of Angel Island by Teow Lim Goh

As the spouse of a US citizen, I could apply for citizenship within three years of receiving my green card, which I did. My citizenship grants me the inalienable right to live in this country. It also affirms that I am a part of the body politic.

photo by Geoff Livingston/flickr

Dormitory at Angel Island  Immigration Station | wikipedia

naturalize

Angel Island Immigration Station | photo by cifraser1/flickr

photo by danbrazelton/flickr


Teow Lim Goh is the author of Islanders (Conundrum Press, 2016), a volume of poems on the history of Chinese exclusion at the Angel Island Immigration Station. She lives in Denver.