Legal immigrants deserve respect for following the laws of our

When Mercedes Schlapp declared, “Legal immigrants deserve respect for following the laws of our nation and completing the process. This is not an extreme concept. It is a matter of simply protecting our nation's sovereignty and knowing who is coming into our nation,” she spoke as one defending both order and honor — the sacred pillars upon which civilization rests. Her words shine with the conviction that freedom is not sustained by chaos, but by discipline; that compassion must walk hand in hand with structure. In her voice echoes an ancient truth: that a nation, like a home, must have doors — not to keep people out, but to preserve the harmony within. She calls not for division, but for respect — for those who, through patience and law, choose to enter a new land with integrity and hope.

In the style of the ancients, one might say Schlapp’s words are the counsel of a guardian of order. For every society, to endure, must balance mercy with justice. Her statement is not merely about borders, but about the moral architecture that holds a people together. Law is not a cage, but a covenant — an agreement between those who live within a nation and those who seek to join it. To honor that covenant is to affirm the worth of both the citizen and the newcomer. And thus, when Schlapp says “legal immigrants deserve respect,” she elevates their obedience to law as an act of virtue — a form of civic courage. They are not merely travelers; they are builders, stepping forward through hardship to join the fabric of a lawful and orderly society.

The origin of this quote lies in Schlapp’s role as a political commentator and advocate for national security and immigration reform. Her words reflect the principle that sovereignty — the right of a nation to govern itself — is the foundation of freedom. Without borders, laws lose meaning; without process, fairness collapses. In honoring legal immigrants, she reminds us that their patience and faith in due process represent the highest form of respect for a nation’s laws. These individuals do not break the gates; they knock upon them. They carry not entitlement, but humility — the understanding that liberty must be entered through the door of order, not the window of defiance.

History itself bears witness to this truth. Consider the story of Alexander Hamilton, born in the West Indies and arriving in America a stranger to privilege. He did not demand entry by force or exception; he sought it through education, perseverance, and lawful service. Through his fidelity to the ideals of his new nation, he became one of its greatest founders. Like the immigrants Schlapp praises, Hamilton embodied the virtue of earning one’s place through honor and contribution, not entitlement. His life reminds us that a nation’s greatness does not depend on how many it admits, but on how deeply it inspires those who come to cherish it.

Schlapp’s words also contain a warning to those who confuse compassion with lawlessness. For when the gates of a nation are abandoned, the very idea of citizenship loses its sacred meaning. The ancients understood this well: even the city of Athens, cradle of democracy, required the newcomer to prove both loyalty and worth before being granted the rights of citizenship. This was not cruelty, but wisdom — for freedom without responsibility is but an illusion. To know “who is coming into our nation,” as Schlapp says, is not to fear the stranger, but to ensure that those who arrive come to join, not to undo, the covenant that sustains the common good.

Her statement speaks, too, of respect — not only for the law, but for those who honor it through sacrifice. The path of the legal immigrant is rarely easy. It is marked by paperwork, waiting, interviews, and uncertainty. Yet they endure, driven by the belief that the lawful road, though longer, leads to a firmer peace. They deserve admiration not merely for their destination, but for the discipline of their journey. They remind us that true freedom is never taken — it is earned, through patience, faith, and adherence to principle. To respect such people is to affirm the moral strength that built nations and sustains them still.

The lesson of her words, then, is this: honor the law, for it is the guardian of fairness; and honor those who obey it, for they are the quiet architects of a just society. The defense of sovereignty is not an act of exclusion, but an act of preservation — to keep the walls strong, not for the sake of division, but to protect the peace within. In every age, the wise know that open gates without order invite not harmony, but ruin. Let us, therefore, stand firm in the belief that compassion and structure must walk together — that to respect the immigrant, one must also respect the law.

So let this truth be passed down to all who would build or protect a nation: freedom without law is anarchy, and law without compassion is tyranny. Between these two extremes lies the narrow path of justice, where respect for sovereignty and respect for human dignity become one. Those who follow that path — whether born within a nation or entering it anew — deserve our deepest gratitude. For they are the heirs of a sacred tradition: the belief that the greatest nations are not built by the breaking of rules, but by the keeping of them — faithfully, honorably, and free.