Immigration strongly affects the Black community and Insecure actress Yvonne Orji can attest to the fact.

During a recent Women’s Day panel, the Nigerian actress, who was born in Port Harcourt and now resides in Los Angeles, shared her experience as an immigrant in America.

“There’s a lot of negative speak about what it means to be an immigrant. I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know where that came from,” she said to the audience. “We do the dirty jobs. We do the good jobs. We get the job done. I was able to come to America because of immigration. My mom got here because there was a nursing shortage. And so when people talk about how immigrants take the job that nobody wants, I’m like, ‘Well nobody wanted to be a nurse in the ’80s.”

Orji went on to emphasize the intensified pressure of securing work and making it in Hollywood, which included letting go of initial plans to become an OBGYN and focusing on making a life as a comedian – with the push of her parents on her back.

“Knowing I was entering the industry that was not the norm for anyone in my family. My father was like, ‘If you’re going to do this, do it the best. … There’s a whole country that you would let down.’”

Well, it’s evident that the budding actress is representing quite well for her country. In addition to gearing up for another round of Insecure, Orji is adamant about expanding the way Africans are portrayed on television and is currently working on her sitcom series, First Gen that is loosely based on her experience.