Or, given the fact that normal folks come here and live normal lives contributing to their communities, the US could just make easier paths to citizenship.
We already have paths to citizenship, people just need to wait their turn. People with skills we need can already get in under programs that exist for that purpose.
We don’t want the full population of every failed or economically-languishing state (including ALL kinds of people, including the worst elements that exist in every society) to show up overnight and move in, which is what has happened in many western countries including the US with asylum claim abuse.
It’s rapidly turned high-trust societies into low-trust societies because that’s how those who come here from low-trust societies operate by default. People who have been here and know what a proper society looks like don’t like this.
Hah, what? I have skills we need. I came here legally.
It would have been easier, quicker, and cheaper for me to come here on a visa waiver, marry a USC against the terms of that waiver, and ask for forgiveness (i.e. "adjust status") than it was to do so the "proper way".
You're kinda making my point for me. We throw barriers in the way of people who have skills and follow laws like civilized people, and then we bend over backwards for people who broke the rules, including ones who start out in bad faith with bogus asylum claims.
Personally, I'd be fine with an easy, renewable work visa for anyone who speaks and understands perfect English, has a verifiable college degree, and has a signed job offer.
I do believe that culture exists and matters, and despite being a young country, it doesn't make us racist to say that we'd like to keep it. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Spanish-speaking countries (among others) have for generations done this, have assimilated (learning English, adopting acceptable cultural norms, etc) while still adding their unique cultural contributions. I expect no more from 21st-century migrants. And many do just that.
My only intention is to discourage the ones who aren't interested in ever being American from immigrating. In turn, I shouldn't move to Japan or Russia or Saudi Arabia or Kenya and live the most conspicuously-American lifestyle possible and then expect everyone to thank me for bringing so much diversity (and call them racist xenophobes if they don't).
