On Borders and Citizens
“My US citizenship is a kind of bulwark. It is not a guarantee of protection.”

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.




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.
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