I didn't think the leopard would eat MY face.

• Elon Musk, sometime in the future

Conservatives think that some people are just better than others and, surprise surprise, they're near the top of the "natural hierarchy".

"I'm an immigrant, but I'm not like those other immigrants because I don't [Republican stereotype of immigrants]"

Here's the thought process:

1. it was really hard to get into this country
2. if we make it easier to come here, that nullifies the work I did

A similar argument applies to a lot of other things, for example:

• student loan forgiveness - I paid my student loans (or worked to avoid them), why should others get a pass?
• mortgage assistance - I saved to be able to afford a home, why should others skip that step?

A lot of people attribute this to selfishness, but I think it's closer to jealousy. I have two kids who share a bedroom, and if I reward them equally for cleaning up when one did 90% of the work, that doesn't seem fair to the one that did the most work, even if they're older and more capable. I think that's pretty similar to what's happening here.

That said, I personally am in favor of much more open borders, and I'd like to get to a point where we don't have quotas or anything and people can come as they please. My ideal is a quick stop at the border to fill out a form (i.e. temporary work authorization), then perhaps monthly digital reports about job status, and then a longer-term authorization once you can prove employment (or at least financial stability). We have a huge backlog, so in the meantime I'd like to simplify the paperwork and increase the quotas until that backlogged demand is exhausted.

Helping other human beings, even if there is no gain for you? Damn commie! /s

Immigrants are by definition people who left their culture for another. Why would they want to make it easier for others?

If I made it out of the US to Spain, the last thing I want is a bunch more Americans coming with me

Which is ironic IMO, because it's the poor, non-white immigrants that build this country from the ground up. They take the jobs we don't want, which keeps our prices low so our better educated citizens can take better jobs. Then after a generation or two, those poor immigrants' descendants will be the ones taking the better jobs.

We need a constant stream of people willing to take the crappy jobs we don't want, especially if we want to bring manufacturing back to this country. So I really don't understand why conservatives want to simultaneously encourage more factories here and discourage low-cost labor.