In an exciting and entertaining clip from ABC’s The View, irritating co-host Joy Behar asked Arnold Schwarzenegger, an immigrant, for his reaction to ICE actions and dramatic videos of violent protests. Schwarzenegger expressed pride in his journey from arriving in America at 21 with nothing to building a successful career, calling the U.S. the greatest country and land of opportunity.
Building on this comment, he emphasized that immigrants must enter and behave legally, likening illegal entry to being a disrespectful guest in someone’s home. He stressed that immigrants should give back to America through community service, such as after-school programs or Special Olympics.
Starting the clip, Behar began with what she thought was a leading question that would get the famous actor to disavow ICE and Border Patrol. “So, you are an immigrant. You’re an immigrant in this country. Did you have a visceral reaction to what they’re doing, what ICE is doing when you see the videos of it?” she asked.
Responding, the Hollywood a-lister stated, “Well, I tell you, you said that the immigrant. I’m so proud and happy that I was impressed by the American people like that. I mean, imagine they came over here with the age of 21 with absolutely nothing, and then to create a career like that. I mean, in no other country in the world could you do that.”
“This is why I’m so happy to see firsthand that this is the greatest country in the world, and this is the land of opportunity,” Schwarzenegger opined, “And I think because I’m such a proud American, and the proud immigrant became the America I was asked to do on July 4, a big speech…at Mount Vernon, where George Washington was with the rest, where he lived, and all that, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America, the existence of America.”
Building on this point, he added, “You’ve got to do things legally, and those people that are doing illegal things in America, and they’re the foreigners, they are not smart, because when you come to America, you’re a guest, and you have to behave like a guest.”
Using an analogy to explain his point, “Schwarzenegger stated, “When I go to someone’s house, and I’m A guest, then I will do everything I can, keep things clean, make my bed, and do everything that is the right thing to do, rather than committing a crime or being abusive or something like that.”
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“So that doesn’t really work in this country. So I think the important thing is, when you become an immigrant, to think about, okay, ‘I go to America because I want to use America for the great opportunities that America has, in education, in jobs, creating a family, all of those kind of things,’ then you have to think about, okay, if I get all of those things from America, then I have to give something back,” the famous actor and former Republican governor explained.
Watch the clip here:
Rounding out his comments, the movie star said, “You have a responsibility as an immigrant to give back to America and to pay back America and to go and do something for your community for no money whatsoever. Give Something Back to after-school programs, Special Olympics, or whatever it is.”
Featured image from embedded video