A Nation of Laws, not of Immigrants

Michelle Malkin decries the indiscriminate use of the phrase "a nation of immigrants". The United States is a nation of laws and not of immigrants with 85% of current residents born in the country.

Malkin also gives examples of how the Founding Fathers viewed immigration and assimilation, e.g.,

- In a 1790 speech to Congress on the naturalization of immigrants, James Madison stated that America should welcome the immigrant who could assimilate, but exclude the immigrant who could not readily “incorporate himself into our society.”

- The survival of the American republic, Hamilton maintained, depends upon “the preservation of a national spirit and a national character.” “To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the moment they put foot in our country would be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty.”

I must admit I've used the term myself but in this context I think I will forebear.