What It Means to Be a Good Immigrant

Be polite. Be hardworking. Be grateful.

Don’t complain. Don’t make trouble. Don’t ask for too much.

That’s what makes a good immigrant.

Or at least, that’s what we’ve been told.

Be the model worker, the model student, the model neighbor.
Be successful—but not too successful.
Assimilate—but not so much that you forget where you came from.
Contribute—but don’t ask for anything in return.

Blend in. Be useful. Be agreeable.

Because the moment you push back—on unfair treatment, on discrimination, on your right to belong—
The patience runs out. The compliments stop. The welcome feels conditional.

Suddenly, you’re not one of the good ones anymore.

So maybe the real question isn’t what makes a good immigrant—

But why immigrants have to prove themselves at all.