In a recent TikTok LIVE session, rapper Nicki Minaj revealed that she is not a U.S. citizen, despite having paid millions in taxes throughout her career. During her conversation with a fan, Minaj expressed frustration over the lack of recognition from the U.S. government regarding her financial contributions.
“I’m not a citizen of America. Isn’t that crazy?” she stated, clarifying that she remains a citizen of her birthplace, Trinidad and Tobago. “I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago. But I’ve been in the States for many years. You would think that with the millions of dollars that I’ve paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago.”
Minaj has previously spoken about her immigrant background and her journey to the United States, particularly in 2018 when addressing immigrant rights. Responding to the controversial separation of migrant children from their parents during the Donald Trump administration, she shared on Instagram, “I came to this country as an illegal immigrant at 5 years old. I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place and having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me. Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now? Not knowing if their parents are dead or alive, if they’ll ever see them again… ”
Proud of her Trinidadian heritage, Minaj represented her native country last year in the remix of “Shake The Place” alongside fellow Trinidadians Machel Montano and Destra. At the start of the track, she proudly declared, “Trinidad my country, the greatest carnival of all time,” before rapping: “I’m reppin’ that red, that white, that black/ I’m reppin’ my real flag.”
Minaj later performed the song at the annual Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, sharing her sentiments on Instagram: “wish my grandmother was alive to see this. Wish daddy was alive to see this.”
