A border that moves makes U.S. citizens feel like targets
By ISAAC NA — isna@ucdavis.edu
This year, the United States is celebrating its 250th birthday. This birthday party will have fireworks, large parades and lengthy speeches about freedom and its basis in America. The American Dream is the concept of freedom itself, available to all Americans who come to this land to accomplish their dreams. But the current state of immigration enforcement raises the question: Who really counts as American?
Despite all the beliefs we celebrate — such as liberty, equality and opportunity — the reality is that some American citizens feel like they don’t fully belong in this country. For me, 2026 is an opportunity to look honestly at the systems we’ve established to administer immigration policies, and ask if they really match our national values.
When most people think of “the border,” they think of a tall fence or a thick wall. But the power of the border can travel. It shows up in stores, at job sites and even in homes. The government has made an immigration machine that can be implemented almost anywhere.
In August 2019, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided poultry processing plants in Mississippi and detained close to 700 undocumented workers. In September 2025, ICE agents stormed a Hyundai plant in Georgia and arrested 475 workers, the majority being South Korean nationals.
All of this is a part of Operation Metro Surge, “the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out.” The operation infamously took the life of Veterans Affairs Nurse Alex Pretti, and is a glaring example of the detainment of U.S. citizens and violence that has been occurring. These incidents are scarily indicative of a mobilized border.
As a second-generation Korean American, this question of who belongs in this country hits differently. I was born here. Both of my parents immigrated as young children and grew roots here. But examining the current landscape of immigration enforcement makes me feel like the border can show up anywhere. This enforcement isn’t qualified in many cases, with those deemed “un-American” having a target on their backs.
As our nation turns 250 years old and we think about what it means to be American, we have to ask: Is our current immigration enforcement aligned with our national values? Our generation has to be brutally honest with ourselves and see where we’ve succeeded as a country and where we fall short. If we want to keep calling ourselves the “Land of the Free,” we need to ensure that the systems designed to protect Americans do not fail those they are meant to serve.
Who really counts as American? Why do some American citizens feel as if they have a target on their backs? Are we truly a “land of the free” now? Some food for thought as we celebrate our nation’s 250th.
Written by: Isaac Na — isna@ucdavis.edu
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