The recent anti-immigrant politics in the United States has reminded me of my own family heritage.

The Latvian diaspora is part of the third largest diaspora population in the world, which is comprised of migrants from the former Soviet Union.

According to the 2017 UN migration report, in 2000 the Russian Federation was the country of origin with the largest number of international migrants.

Latvia was part of the former Soviet Bloc until the early 1990s, and, as such, the Latvian Diaspora, despite the protests of many Latvian immigrants who were forcibly exiled as a result of Cold War politics, is formally regarded as part of the "Russian-American" population.

There are more than 3 million "Russian-Americans" in the United States today and more than 10 million worldwide. Of this population, there are as many as 100,000 Latvian-Americans living in the United States.

The UN migration report reminds us that the majority of migrants in the world are not merely fleeing "poverty," but actually come from "middle-income" countries. My family did not leave Latvia because of poverty, nor did they leave because they had a choice.

My family remains divided as a result of these politics, with some extended family members living in Latvia and others in the United States.

More than this, because of America's assimilationist views, my family's cultural heritage and traditions have slowly been erased. My family, who arrived in America many decades ago and has contributed considerably to American society (as artists, professors, pastors, actors/actresses, musicians, etc), remains divided (culturally, linguistically, politically, spatially/geographically, etc) because of these hostile and xenophobic politics.