Most native-born Americans will never have to prove what we know about our country. We inherit citizenship, so we can easily treat it as something to possess rather than something to practice.

Aspiring citizens have no such luxury. They spend years building lives here, meeting legal requirements and preparing to demonstrate their command of English, American history and civics. Their efforts, spanning decades for many, pose a question to the rest of us: What does citizenship demand of us today?

Our founders started with an audacious wager: that a people could be made “one out of many.” This nation would not be forged from one ethnicity, religion or ancestry, but from a shared commitment to freedom and self-determination. E pluribus unum was their extraordinary vision, and remains our extraordinary labor today.

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Nazanin Ash

Nazanin Ash is CEO of Welcome.US, a national initiative that mobilizes Americans, businesses and community organizations to welcome and support refugees. Under her leadership, Welcome.US has expanded private sponsorship and community-based support for newcomers across the country. She previously served as vice president of global policy and advocacy at the International Rescue Committee and held senior policy roles at the U.S. Department of State.

Walter Kim

Walter Kim is president of the National Association of Evangelicals. He earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, was a chaplain at Yale, and has served in diverse pastoral ministries. Before becoming NAE president, he served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada, and Charlottesville, Virginia. He serves on the boards of World Relief, Christianity Today and The Salvation Army USA and is frequently sought out for theological and cultural commentary on issues facing the church and society.

Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan is executive director of No One Left Behind, where he supports efforts on behalf of Afghan and Iraqi allies. Previously, he advocated for improvements to the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program at With Honor Action. A U.S. Army veteran, he served as an infantry officer for more than nine years, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.