Immigration isn't complicated. We just pretend it is.

Imagine you own a house. Someone knocks on your door and says they want to move in.
You'd ask one question: "Why?"
If they say "because I love this house and I'll help pay the mortgage" you'd consider it.
If they say "because your house is nicer than mine and I want free rent" you'd slam the door.
That's immigration policy. It's not complicated.
You want to come to America? Here's the deal.
Don't hate this country. Don't move here and then spit on the flag that gave you a home.
Don't come for a handout. We're not a charity. We're a nation.
Learn the language. Learn the customs. Assimilate. Be smart. Build something. Make the neighborhood better than you found it.
Your grandkids should feel American. Not like permanent outsiders in a country that gave you a home.
Stand with us when things get hard.
When there's a war, you fight. When the Olympics come on, you cheer for the red, white, and blue. When the anthem plays, you stand.
Not because someone made you. Because you chose this.
That's what citizenship means. It's not a passport. It's not paperwork. It's a promise.
Most people born here don't even understand the weight of that. You should.
We've done this before.
Ellis Island. Millions showed up with nothing. Learned English. Built businesses. Raised families. America had the greatest economic boom in human history.
Not because we opened the borders. Because we opened them to people who wanted to build.
So what went wrong?
Milton Friedman said it plain: Americans turned on immigration when we became a welfare state.
Not because Americans are hateful. Because the deal changed.
Every country on earth gets to choose who comes in. We should be picking the best.
Engineers. Doctors. Builders. People other countries are fighting to keep.
Not whoever stumbles across the border first.
I don't want to hear about compassion when I'm paying full tuition and the guy who moved here last year gets a free ride.
I don't want to hear about tolerance when hundreds of millions in federal fraud gets traced back to one community in one state and nobody goes to prison for years.
I don't want to explain to my kid why the family down the street doesn't work, doesn't contribute, but somehow has more than we do.
That's not immigration. That's looting in broad daylight.
And when there's no accountability. When you can't even ask the question without being called a bigot. People stop trusting any of it.
That's when it breaks. For everyone.
Including the immigrants who did it the right way.
Not a single thing on this list is about race. Not a single thing is about where you came from.
It's about what you bring. And what you're willing to give back.
There are two kinds of immigrants in this country.
The ones who came here, bled for it, built something, and made us stronger.
And the ones who came here to take.
America's door is open. It always has been. But a door that's open to everyone is a door that protects no one.
And I'm not sacrificing my kid's future because you're afraid to say that out loud.