#ProudChildOfAnImmigrant: The wonderful hashtag fighting back against Ukip's anti-immigration campaign

It's referendum day and as the rain pours down across the country, people are lining up in polling stations to cast their vote.

The day will be saturated with last ditch attempts at campaigning, and every single social media platform will be filled with Vote Leave and Stronger In propaganda.

The last few days of campaigning have seen a surge in anti-immigration propaganda, with both sides of the debate saying we must clamp down on the free movement of people.

Which is why it's refreshing to see some people are sharing stories and pictures of their family with the hashtag #ProudChildOfAnImmigrant:

The trend appears to have been started on Tuesday by Nikesh Shukla, author of an upcoming collection of essays about immigration in the UK, Good Immigrant, when he tweeted the following:

Shukla explained to indy100:

I wrote the tweet between putting on my jacket at work and the front door, so I didn't really expect it to take off as well as it did.

I felt sick and appalled and violated by the racist fear-mongering campaign about immigration that has been conducted. I felt like the Ukip poster showing a sea of brown faces in an attempt to demonise them was like a racist attack.

I was sick of white journalists commenting on immigration, never writers of colour. I was sick of comparisons to Enoch Powell.

People picked up the sentiment and began to celebrate their own immigrant family...

Immigrants from all over the world

Shared their stories...

...and celebrated their achievements

Parents worked in Chinese restaurants, now I'm receiving my PhD thanks to their support.

The trend has even migrated to Facebook...

Shukla concluded:

Immigration isn't an issue. It's a real thing. And we are real human people. So when we become an 'issue' for politicians to debate, it dehumanises us.

You can debate immigration all you want, but I will still wake up tomorrow morning as a brown man, the proud child of an immigrant.

Well said.

More: Show this video to anyone who says there are too many immigrants in Britain

More: Sadiq Khan called out the Leave campaign's 'Project Hate' and got the biggest cheer of the BBC EU debate