The Flag I Fly, and the Country I Love

Being Mexican-American on the Border Shouldn’t Be a Political Statement

“How dare anyone question my loyalty to this country—simply because I carry my roots with pride?”

It’s summer. I’m traveling. And all over my feed and in the news, I see the same controversy rear its ugly head: the Mexican flag.

Who gets to wave it? When? Why are people so angry about it?

I live in Texas, right on the border with Mexico. In my community, some people cross to and from Mexico twice a day, every day. Many of us are:

• U.S. citizens

• Legal residents

• Naturalized citizens

• Dual citizens

We work here. We pay taxes here. We raise families here. And yet, our identities still seem to offend.

Let me be clear: