Part of the problem is there are people in Washington, D.C. in

Hear now the words of John Kennedy, spoken with sharpness and fire: “Part of the problem is there are people in Washington, D.C. in positions of power to whom the border is just a nuisance, and I think some of them believe that illegal immigration is a moral good. It is not. It undermines legal immigration.” This declaration is more than an argument of policy; it is a cry about order, justice, and the meaning of law in a nation. For Kennedy warns that when rules are ignored, when boundaries are dismissed as inconveniences, the very fabric of fairness begins to unravel.

The meaning of this teaching lies in the difference between lawful order and lawless indulgence. A border, whether drawn in the dust of ancient lands or upon the map of a modern republic, is not merely a line but a covenant. It represents the agreement of a people about who belongs, who may enter, and under what conditions. To treat it as a nuisance is to treat that covenant as worthless. Kennedy speaks against those who, in pursuit of compassion or ideology, mistake the breaking of laws for a higher virtue, forgetting that legal immigration itself is the path that preserves fairness, equality, and trust.

History gives us many examples of this truth. Consider the fall of the Roman Empire. As Rome’s borders weakened, and as rules about entry and loyalty were cast aside, the empire was consumed by pressures from within and without. The Romans had long welcomed outsiders, but through the order of law, through oaths of allegiance and shared duty. When these rules decayed, when the difference between lawful citizen and unlawful intruder collapsed, Rome’s unity fractured. Thus we see Kennedy’s warning: without respect for lawful entry, even the mightiest societies stumble.

Yet there is also the lesson of Ellis Island, where millions once came to America seeking hope. There, the path of legal immigration—though slow, though often difficult—created stories of belonging that endured. Families from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and beyond passed through the same gates, followed the same rules, and entered into the promise of citizenship. It was the fairness of this process that gave strength to the whole, for each new American could say, “I came through the same door as all others.” To undermine this path by exalting illegal entry is to cheapen the sacrifices of those who came lawfully, and to plant seeds of resentment where unity ought to grow.

Mark this well, O listener: Kennedy does not speak against compassion, but against confusion. For when leaders proclaim that breaking the law is itself a moral good, they do not uplift the immigrant—they injure both the citizen and the lawful newcomer. Compassion does not require the abandonment of justice; mercy does not require the destruction of order. Indeed, to preserve the integrity of legal immigration is to protect the dignity of every immigrant who waits, who follows the rules, who honors the covenant of law.

Let this be the lesson: respect for boundaries is not hatred, but discipline. A border is not a wall to reject humanity, but a gate through which humanity may pass in fairness. Laws must be upheld not to diminish compassion, but to preserve it from being twisted into chaos. For without the anchor of order, compassion itself becomes a storm, scattering trust and undermining the unity of nations.

Therefore, O child of tomorrow, walk with balance. Advocate for justice in immigration, yes, but never at the cost of the law that preserves fairness for all. Welcome the stranger, but do so in a way that honors the same rules for every soul. And when leaders call lawful order a nuisance, remember Kennedy’s warning: such neglect erodes the foundation upon which nations stand.

Thus, the words of John Kennedy ring not as mere politics, but as principle: illegal immigration undermines legal immigration, and to confuse the two is to lose sight of both justice and mercy. Let the borders stand not as symbols of cruelty, but as guardians of fairness, so that compassion and law may walk together in strength.