America is a nation of immigrants, but how we assimilate those newcomers has become a big problem. Historically, becoming a legal immigrant means entering a social contract with the government, much like joining an athletic club. Political activist and Indian immigrant Dinesh D’Souza explains this analogy: when joining, the members ask, “Who is eligible to be in?” According to the laws of the club, the president is the person who lawfully decides who gets in and who does not. There’s a certain fee to get in, and as a group the club members elect persons to be in charge of the club and decide who is eligible to join. Every member in the club contributes financially and is a part of choosing what kind of club it becomes: whether that’s a golf club or dinner club, or swimming club. Similarly, every nation gets to determine who is eligible to be in their club. America is the club of the Constitution.

The truth is that millions of people flock to America because they want to be a part of our culture. They’ve heard about the American Dream. They have left home, family, roots behind because hey think our culture is probably better than the one they are leaving. The question then becomes, “who will help these immigrants assimilate?” Typically, the political party that is in power decides what this looks like. Currently, there is a huge clash between Republicans and Democrats about methods of helping immigrants.

Again, D’Souza gives a helpful analogy: there is a tall building, and at the top there are both Democrats and Republicans. At the bottom on the ground are immigrants and minority groups. Democrats throw down a rope to help them climb, while Republicans put up a long ladder. D’Souza asks, “Which seems more appealing? The rope is more appealing because the Democrats will begin to pull you up.” They promise to do the work for the immigrants and pull them up. Unfortunately, the Democrats suddenly stop pulling on the rope about one fourth of the way up. This makes the person on the rope completely dependant on the Democrat holding the rope. They are stuck. The Republicans, on the other hand, offer ladder. This allows immigrants to choose to work their way up the ladder.

Overall, the government’s job is to hold the ladder so that there is equal opportunity (not equal outcome) for all who are in this country.

Sadly, the Democratic party, who has been in power for the last eight years, has messed up the whole system. They promised a rope, enticing people to enter our country without having to work to assimilate. They have even turned a blind eye to illegal immigrants, some of whom are criminals, entering the country. This has compounded the problem. Fortunately, Donald Trump is trying to fix this huge mess by making strict laws on immigration to get it back to the way it should be. He is putting American safety before immigration. He is encouraging legal immigrants to use the ladder.