Even though the questions may seem irrelevant or out of place to you, there is a purpose for asking them. Unfortunately, that reasoning makes sense only if you accept assumptions about individuals based race. The letter makes no effort to explain why I was suspect and my friend was not. Based on my own experiences, I believe that I saw a small part of a much larger problem. The Customs Service approach reveals that problem, which consists of doubting the citizenship of nonwhites and then trying to excuse racial stereotyping as reasonable.
Birthright citizenship keeps the promise of equal opportunity for immigrants.
In America, our immigration epic has always consisted of two stories. The positive plotline is our tradition of celebrating the arrival and the contributions of innumerable racial and ethnic groups and individuals. Its metaphors are the melting pot, salad bowl, and mosaic. The negative counterpart is our habit of fearing immigrants, warning of their customs, and blaming them for economic difficulties. Its metaphors are a floodtide, an invasion, the Tower of Babel.