Poor people legally immigrate into this country every year, hundreds of thousands become citizens (legally) every year.
Many people who come to America under work or student visas, leave when their visas expire.
When my grandparents immigrated from Cuba they had next to nothing, they worked hard and studied and became citizens, and they observed the laws every step of the way.
I congratulate Patrick Stewart for being a man who observes the law, this is something to be admired.
Of course, this completely glosses over the fact that up until recently the US allowed virtually unlimited migration from Cuba. We had
minimum quotas, rather than maximums, and any Cuban who managed to land on US shores became free to apply for legal residency after a year.
The way our immigration system works right now is that there is a per-country limit in which we will not allow more than 7% of the visas granted in any given year to go to a single country. Anyone beyond that 7% can get on the waiting list, but you go to the back of the line. Guess which country's waiting list is the longest? Mexico.
The US allows 366,000 immigrant visas per year, though immigration for immediate relatives (parents, spouses, children) is not limited. No country may consume more than 7% of that limit in a given year. For 2017, the per-country limit is 25,620. The waiting list for immigrants from Mexico stands at 1.3 million. If you were to join that list right now, you'd be waiting decades for a chance to immigrate here legally.
While I don't think there is a problem with immigration limits
per se, especially when they have reasonable exceptions, I think it's very easy to say "well,
my ancestors waited in line, so why can't everyone else?" while remaining ignorant of the reality that there effectively
is no line for a lot of people. Waiting decades for a chance to emigrate to another country isn't exactly tenable for the vast majority of people, so it's kind of a joke to call it a real option.
It's interesting how one can tout "respect for the law" as a positive in and of itself, as if laws are universally just and ethical. I certainly don't respect laws which are unjust or unethical, or which cause people to be treated cruelly or inhumanely.
