So it begins...

[America Needs R'hllor]

It is a privilege to come to the United States, not a right. What happened to her might have been degrading but she didn't have to come into the United States when there are Canadian stores with the same toys and it probably would've been cheaper to not come to the US.

This is exactly why so many people worldwide have a very unfavorable opinion of America. You're not some heavenly kingdom of god which we all must beg to set our filthy feet on its divine soil. Also, what happened here was denying the freedom of movement on a religious basis. Stop trying to excuse your authoritarian regime because of partisanship.

[America Needs R'hllor]

It is a privilege to come to the United States, not a right. What happened to her might have been degrading but she didn't have to come into the United States when there are Canadian stores with the same toys and it probably would've been cheaper to not come to the US.

This is exactly why so many people worldwide have a very unfavorable opinion of America. You're not some heavenly kingdom of god which we all must beg to set our filthy feet on its divine soil. Also, what happened here was denying the freedom of movement on a religious basis. Stop trying to excuse your authoritarian regime because of partisanship.

This specific case, if the event happened as it is reported in the article, is clearly ridiculous.

However, on principle, I think it is in our best interest to not act like we owe anything to people of other countries when it comes to immigration policy. If America stands to benefit from that travel (such as in the case of Mexican immigration or a Canadian taking a shopping trip to Vermont), then we should be gracious hosts but if American interests are threatened by an immigration policy then we ought to have every right to protect ourselves.

We the people of the US guaranteed justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, general welfare, and the blessings of liberty to OURSELVES and OUR POSTERITY. We should be careful not to forget that.

I do think that compassion is very important and that it's inhumane to not help taking in some refugees, especially with as a country with such a huge population which can help quite a lot of people without being fazed, but I agree that if the amounts of immigrants or refugees are too big to handle, it's absolutely necessary to put the interests of your own citizens first.
But the notion that it's such a privilege to come into the US is one of the things that makes it much harder for me to defend America in arguments.

[America Needs R'hllor]

It is a privilege to come to the United States, not a right. What happened to her might have been degrading but she didn't have to come into the United States when there are Canadian stores with the same toys and it probably would've been cheaper to not come to the US.

This is exactly why so many people worldwide have a very unfavorable opinion of America. You're not some heavenly kingdom of god which we all must beg to set our filthy feet on its divine soil. Also, what happened here was denying the freedom of movement on a religious basis. Stop trying to excuse your authoritarian regime because of partisanship.

This specific case, if the event happened as it is reported in the article, is clearly ridiculous.

However, on principle, I think it is in our best interest to not act like we owe anything to people of other countries when it comes to immigration policy. If America stands to benefit from that travel (such as in the case of Mexican immigration or a Canadian taking a shopping trip to Vermont), then we should be gracious hosts but if American interests are threatened by an immigration policy then we ought to have every right to protect ourselves.

We the people of the US guaranteed justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, general welfare, and the blessings of liberty to OURSELVES and OUR POSTERITY. We should be careful not to forget that.

I do think that compassion is very important and that it's inhumane to not help taking in some refugees, especially with as a country with such a huge population which can help quite a lot of people without being fazed, but I agree that if the amounts of immigrants or refugees are too big to handle, it's absolutely necessary to put the interests of your own citizens first.
But the notion that it's such a privilege to come into the US is one of the things that makes it much harder for me to defend America in arguments.

     In principle it applies to any country; nobody except its citizens and permanent residents has a right to enter the country. It just so happens that Americans have a lot more hubris about it than other people do.

Also so happens we are seemingly held to a standard other (specifically European countries) aren't sometimes.

What? Clearly you aren't. The Europeans are taking, in fact, far more than they can handle.