Pop Quiz
What satirist said: “President Bush said that if illegal immigrants want citizenship, they’d have to do three things: pay taxes, hold meaningful jobs, and learn English. Bush doesn’t meet those qualifications.”?
What Canadian professor said: “There is nothing morally objectionable in stating that a country has the inalienable right to decide on the exact number of immigrants and the exact type of immigrants that it wishes to let into its borders. As part of that calculus, it is perfectly rational to exhibit preferential treatment to immigrants who share one’s cultural values.”?
What American historian said: “There’s a reason nationalists build walls, denigrate foreigners, and denounce immigrants: Because our people are better than those people. There’s a reason nationalism has so often become violent in the past. For if we – our nation – are better, then what right do others have to live beside us? Or to occupy land that we covet?”?
What American lawyer/politician said: “Printing ballots in multiple languages costs millions of dollars every year. It also discourages immigrants from integrating into American society and gaining the benefits that come from speaking English.”?
What lovable fuzzball said: “Canada has an immigration policy you might want to emulate. They want more skilled and educated immigrants. In fact, that’s all they take. But, see, since nobody’s watching them, and they’re not a superpower, nobody really cares. So they are allowed to act in their best interests.”?
Answers at the end of the post.
Promises made, promises kept
Candidate Trump promised to address the growing flow of recreational drugs into the US across our porous southern border, He particularly targeted fentanyl which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. In January 2026 Nicolas Maduro, the Eli Lilly of non-medicinal pharmaceuticals, was arrested at his opulent home in Caracas, Venezuela and escorted to the US by his captors. In addition US forces interdicted the waterborne flow of drugs by the civilian Venezuelan navy. Word is that Hunter Biden was very put out by these actions.
We are told repeatedly by the Democrats and the Leftist media (redundancy alert) that America is a “nation of immigrants”. In fact, that is one of twelve totally original cliches that Senor Obama dispenses when you pull the ring on the back of his neck. That trope is invariably introduced as a justification for allowing unfettered illegal immigration into the US.
The proper term should be that America is a “nation of settlers”.
Immigration into the United States has a very checkered history. Between 1790 and 1802 four Naturalization Acts signed into law. Each set forth the residency requirements for citizenship in America. In 1790 it was two years, in 1795 it was raised to five years and in 1798, as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, it was raised to 14 years. In 1802, when cooler heads prevailed, it was returned to five years. The need to codify the residency requirements was based on protecting the Sovereignty of the nation. It was intended to control admission into America. This policy is identical to that practiced at Sheldon Whitehouse’s country club in Rhode Island.
The naturalization laws also required that to become a citizen an applicant had to prove they were a person of “good character” in a Court. Our founders believed good character was essential for the people and the nation. The last step was a pledge of loyalty to our Constitution.
The talking heads of today look back at the fact that only “free white persons” could become citizens and erroneously conclude that the US was built on a foundation of racism. As very few people today make the effort to understand history, they are unaware that at the end of the 18th Century almost every country had a homogeneous population. Immigration was not a common phenomenon. Foreign meant strange and unfamiliar and “foreigners” were rarely welcomed and assimilated. Even today Japan and China make immigration extremely difficult…apparently, they have all the yard maintenance people they need.
It is a blemish on our history that Negroes, neither free nor slave, were originally allowed to become citizens. In 1810 there were 185,000 free Negroes in America, but none were citizens. One thing that has made America Great is that we have taken the actions required to right the wrongs of the past. The 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865, after a long Civil War and the expenditure of vast amounts of blood and treasure. The 14th Amendment and the Naturalization Act of 1870 ensured that Black Americans were forever US citizens.
Trump did not invent controls on immigration. Both Democrat and Republican administrations have enacted laws that controlled or limited immigration. Such laws codified a process for seeking admission and then citizenship. Today some of these laws would be deemed unacceptable but in the context of our history they may have been, at the time, understandable.
Between 1820 and 1860 immigrants from Ireland constituted a third of all entries into the country. This alarmed some politicians and limiting immigration from Ireland and Germany became a plank of the Know Nothing Party, also misnamed as the Native American Party…even though it did not support the rights of our Native Americans, i.e. American Indians. A reflection of the bias against the Irish was that in many cities during that era there were signs on businesses suggesting that “Irish need not apply”. In any case this shows that “color” may not have been a a factor in the immigration debate.
In 1829 Ellis Island was designated as the gateway for legal immigration. Between 1892 and 1954 about 12 million “legal” immigrants from all nations were admitted given the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.
In 1882 there were two major legislative events: The Immigration Act of 1882 and the Chinese Exclusion Act were enacted and signed into law. The former barred entry to anyone who might become “a public charge”. If an immigrant did not have the means to support themselves either financially or because of ill-health they were deemed to be “undesirable”. They were not even given a chance to get a taxpayer provided Obamaphone. The latter specifically targeted “laborers” and was intended to protect American workers. The Exclusion Act was finally repealed in 1943.
The Immigration Act of 1917 established a requirement that immigrants pass a literacy test. It also extended the scope of the exclusion of immigrants from Asia.
The Immigration Act of 1924 established, for the first time, quotas for entry from most foreign countries. The quota system was ended in 1965.
Over the course of history America had periods of restricted immigration and in some cases, sadly, targeted restrictions. That said there has always been a legal structure for entering the United States. There were no government sponsored financial incentives, nor did we guarantee jobs or housing. Being a ward of the state was not an option until after the Democrats established a policy of dependence…a Democrat policy promoted by FDR. Illegal immigration had never been tolerated, let alone encouraged. That changed during the years of the Biden somnambulance.
It should be noted that there has never been legislation barring entry to anyone based on religious grounds. Americans have always embraced the opening clause of the First Amendment…the right to practice one’s religion. It is argued that we are a Christian nation but since 1700 about 3.5 million Jews have immigrated to the US and despite the global growth of Islamic terrorism there have no laws enacted to deny admission to those who practice the Muslim faith. The closest we came to religious exclusive was the decision by FDR to turn away the USS St. Louis carrying some 900 Jews seeking to escape the Shoah. Surrealistically the administration justified this horrific decision by arguing that it would have violated the quotas in the Immigration Act of 1924.
Immigration has historically been seen as a means of strengthening the body politic by bringing into the American family the best of the best. For example:
Alexander Hamilton: Born in Nevis, planted the seeds of capitalism as Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury;
Haym Salamon: Born in Poland, financed the American Revolution;
Andrew Carnegie: Born in Scotland, embraced capitalism and financed 2,509 libraries across America;
Levi Strauss: Born in Germany, put millions of American kids in blue jeans;
Joseph Pulitzer: Born in Hungary, publisher and inspiration for the Pulitzer Prize;
Albert Einstein: Born in Germany, became a universal symbol for intellect;
Ayn Rand: Born in Russia and then Atlas Shrugged…avid supporter of free enterprise;
Elon Musk: Born in South Africa, arrived with $3,000 in his pocket, now the richest man in the world.
Immigration policy has always been clearly defined by laws promulgated by Congress. It must be an orderly process, and it is essential that we attract people who will make positive contributions to our society. Permitting daily reenactments of the Oklahoma Land Rush at our borders is a recipe for failure. We must establish order and undo the destabilizing actions of the Biden Administration. That includes eliminating the so-called birthright citizenship and deporting all who have entered the country illegally. Under President Trump 1.9 million illegal immigrants have voluntarily self-deported.
Rules for Immigration to the US
Immigration laws should be clear and they must be enforced. We must clarify the rules for claiming asylum. Regional agreements between nations and domestic rules in major destination countries often penalize people who bypass potential safe havens, and recent U.S. policy changes have made transit through other countries one of the biggest obstacles to winning an asylum case. We must not offer financial incentives to encourage illegal entry.
Moreover, if there is a clear humanitarian crisis America should not automatically deny access to the victims thereof. However, any opening of the borders in such a situation must require legislative action that defines the crisis and provides guidelines for admission. The Shoah would be the best historical example of a humanitarian crisis. We failed then…but let us never forget.
Answers to the pop quiz:
What satirist said: “President Bush said that if illegal immigrants want citizenship, they’d have to do three things: pay taxes, hold meaningful jobs, and learn English. Bush doesn’t meet those qualifications.”? PJ O’Rourke
What Canadian professor said: “There is nothing morally objectionable in stating that a country has the inalienable right to decide on the exact number of immigrants and the exact type of immigrants that it wishes to let into its borders. As part of that calculus, it is perfectly rational to exhibit preferential treatment to immigrants who share one’s cultural values.”? Gad Saad
What American historian said: “There’s a reason nationalists build walls, denigrate foreigners, and denounce immigrants: Because our people are better than those people. There’s a reason nationalism has so often become violent in the past. For if we – our nation – are better, then what right do others have to live beside us? Or to occupy land that we covet?”? Expert on Communism Anne Applebaum
What lovable fuzzball said: “Canada has an immigration policy you might want to emulate. They want more skilled and educated immigrants. In fact, that’s all they take. But, see, since nobody’s watching them, and they’re not a superpower, nobody really cares. So they are allowed to act in their best interests.”?
What American lawyer/politician said: “Printing ballots in multiple languages costs millions of dollars every year. It also discourages immigrants from integrating into American society and gaining the benefits that come from speaking English.”? Ernest Istook
What lovable fuzzball said: “Canada has an immigration policy you might want to emulate. They want more skilled and educated immigrants. In fact, that’s all they take. But, see, since nobody’s watching them, and they’re not a superpower, nobody really cares. So they are allowed to act in their best interests.”? El Rushbo