Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham says—with shots of immigrant farm workers airing over her shoulder—that immigration has made America unworthy of our love:
In some parts of the country, it does seem like the America that we know and love doesn't exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American people, and they are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don't like. From Virginia to California we see stark examples of how radically in some ways the country has changed. Now, much of this is related to both illegal and in some cases legal immigration that, of course, progressives love.
America: If it ain’t white, it’s wrong. As someone who remembers being told “America, love it or leave it” during the Cold War (seriously, on the playground in elementary school), I find Ingraham’s sentiment both laughable and completely understandable. Now it’s “you’re making me love America less (because I’m racist), so you have to leave.” The right always thinks they have the right to define what this country is and isn’t, even against reality.
As for that whole “most of us don’t like” it bit, Conor Friedersdorf has receipts:
Lest anyone worry that America won’t have enough patriots left, Ingraham is thankfully wrong when she implies that “most of us” feel as she does:
The survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 5 through 12 among 2,002 adults, finds that 38% say legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its present level, while 32% say it should be increased and 24% say it should be decreased. Since 2001, the share of Americans who favor increased legal immigration into the U.S. has risen 22 percentage points (from 10% to 32%), while the share who support a decrease has declined 29 points (from 53% to 24%).
But if the “us” in Ingraham’s “most of us” is Fox News viewers … well, she’s probably right in that case. It’s just that, again, as it turns out they don’t get to define all things to all people.