Every person should have the right to travel freely, especially between countries in which they are law-abiding citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity or national origin.

Congress must not continue working to pass a bill revising the Visa Waiver Program. The program enables U.S. citizens to travel within 38 countries, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. The change would require all people who are Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationals, citizens or those who have traveled to those countries in the past five years to obtain a visa before traveling to the European Union or returning to the U.S..

According to the National Iranian American Council, even if someone possesses a dual citizenship, they must apply for a new visa in order to be readmitted into the United States each time they travel outside of the country.

I find it insulting to be required to apply for a visa to return to the United States. Needing approval to re-enter the place where my family resides feels incredibly belittling and racist. As an Iranian-American, I refuse to be silent while politicians make such drastic decisions impacting my ability to travel.

I was born and raised in the United States. Every member of my immediate family holds an American passport, resides in the United States and pays taxes to the American government. The racism emanating from this bill decidedly says I am not American enough because the country which my father came from is not valued as highly or trusted as deeply as others.

Congress claims this bill acts as a security measure — as if citizens with dual-nationality are far more of a threat than their single-nationality counterparts. By negatively connotating this clause of the bill, Congress explicitly states that anyone with ties to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria is a security threat. Iranian-Americans are targeted exclusively based on their ancestry, which is unacceptable and un-American, as the U.S.’s reputation has long been one of tolerance and acceptance regardless of outside circumstances.

As minimal media coverage focuses on this bill, Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese and Syrian Americans must act as their own advocates. Prominent Americans affected by this, such as the Iranian comedian from Brooklyn, Mitra Jouhari, have spoken out about their vexations prior to the House hearing the bill. Despite all of this, the bill passed 407-19 Dec. 8.

According to The House Committee on Judiciary Democrats, after the bill passed through the House, over 30 representatives warned of the underlying consequences associated with disqualifying populations in such a blanket way. Although they warned others of the repercussions, many of these same representatives voted in favor of the bill and claimed they did not recognize the consequences at the time. Provisions discriminating solely on dual citizenship based on ancestry were recommended for removal. Exceptions for those who traveled to these countries for journalism, medical or humanitarian aid were also proposed.

If the United States passes this bill, the European Union promised to pass a bill that would essentially implement the same clause inhibiting travel abilities for those from the four affected Middle Eastern countries, leaving those impacted severely hindered in their ability to travel.

Congress’s willingness to backtrack on any and all progress made by Secretary of State John Kerry and the Iranian government throughout the negotiations associated with the Iran Nuclear Deal sickens and disappoints me. This bill goes against the Iran Nuclear Deal by essentially blacklisting Iran, causing Iran to threaten backing out of the deal.

Traveling to Iran opened my eyes to the vast misrepresentation of the Iranian people. Many were fascinated by the U.S., many respected the U.S. and many wished for better relations between Iran and U.S.

By playing into this ‘us against them’ mentality, congressional members unintentionally support the goals of ISIS: to alienate all Muslims or those from countries associated with Islam from their Western counterparts. ISIS receives support in this discriminatory action, as do racist, bigot-minded and overly-conservative politicians that associate Middle-Easterners with terror threats.

The bill intends to reduce terror risk, according to the House of Representatives. Although the government intends to keep terror at bay by enacting this proposal, they neglect to view the overall picture. Instead, they focus too much on alienating the countries with which the U.S. has minimal economic ties or political relationships with. Essentially, countries without strong ties to the U.S. are being treated as though there is no relationship to lose.

Both al-Qaeda and ISIS originated in Saudi Arabia, yet there are no provisions against Saudis. There are also no provisions against people from Pakistan, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Nigeria, Chechnya and other nations where terrorists have come from — nor do I think there should be. No one deserves to face this type of persecution. This discrimination only confirms the fact that combating terror will never be a one-dimensional issue.

No terror groups originated in Iran, and working against them doesn’t make any logical sense. Iran is on the same page as the U.S. and many other countries in combating ISIS and discouraging terror groups. Including Iranian-Americans in the travel ban only proves racism and Islamophobia are rampant in United States politics.

The United States of America prides itself on being a safe place for immigrants. Singling out and treating groups of people as second-class citizens goes against everything this country claims to stand for. Tolerance makes countries powerful, while intolerance only makes countries ignorant.

Depriving Iranian-Americans of their basic human rights will in no way solve the terror issue faced by the world today. Instead, it will test an already fragile relationship between Iranians fighting for increased freedom and the U.S. government depriving them of it.

I refuse to choose one of my nationalities over the other. I refuse to stand by my U.S. family and neglect my Iranian one. I refuse to be ashamed of the culture I was raised in. I refuse to never visit my second home again, even though the likeliness I’ll be allowed back in the U.S. diminishes as this bill moves further. I refuse to stop advocating for those around me to support Iranian-Americans during this time. I am American and I am Iranian and I will fight for my ability to live undiscriminated as both.