After reading the essay “What It Means to Be American” by Amita Reka, I felt like I had just taken a walk in her shoes. Her description of ethnic profiling in America left me feeling enlightened and compelled to respond. I am so thankful that this issue is being addressed. As Amita says, “People need to realize that the average American is not what they used to be.” America contains multiple, diverse races, religions, and ethnicities. And no matter whether someone’s ancestors came here 200 years ago on a boat or two years ago on a plane, they are Americans if they have legal citizenship.

It breaks my heart to see the issue through Amita’s point of view. She writes about her conflicted identity: “Even though I respond ‘Indian,’ part of me aches to say ‘American’ as well. But I never do.” I feel so angered by the fact that our society has made immigrants feel like they cannot identify as Americans, simply because of their origin.