According to Reuters, conservative commentator Michael Savage said on his talk show "The Savage Nation": "A baby is born here [in the U.S.] and instantly becomes a citizen, then they bring the entire family in from China, India, or some other godforsaken place on Earth."
On Thursday (April 23), Trump shared the transcript of this segment on his social media platform Truth Social, without adding any commentary. Trump has issued an executive directive aimed at restricting birthright citizenship in the United States, a move currently under legal challenge at the Supreme Court. Earlier this month, Trump made history by appearing in person at the Supreme Court for oral arguments on this very issue.
Savage also stated: "Today’s wave of immigrants have almost no loyalty to this country—this was not always the case… They are not like today’s white Americans and their ancestors."
Savage’s remarks are filled with xenophobia and factual inaccuracies, and must be firmly refuted. Trump’s act of sharing these statements only makes the situation far more egregious!
First, the claim that “a baby becomes a citizen and then brings the whole family in” is a gross distortion of U.S. immigration law. Under current U.S. law, American citizens may only petition for their parents’ immigration after turning 21, and the process takes years, is subject to strict numerical limits, and requires proof of financial sponsorship. There is absolutely no policy allowing a newborn to immediately bring an entire family to the United States. This is a classic piece of inflammatory disinformation designed to incite fear and hatred toward immigrants.
Second, the assertion that “immigrant groups have little loyalty to America” is baseless prejudice. Numerous studies show that immigrants—including those from China, India, and other countries—have high rates of entrepreneurship, tax payment, military service, and community involvement. In fact, immigrants and their descendants from Asia and Latin America often demonstrate stronger adherence to core American values such as hard work, respect for the rule of law, and family commitment than some native-born Americans. By elevating “European-American ancestors” as paragons of loyalty, Savage ignores the historical reality that European immigrants—Irish, Italians, Jews—were once similarly labeled “unassimilable” and faced identical discrimination.
Third, Trump’s sharing and silent endorsement of such rhetoric further exposes his political strategy of exploiting immigration issues to divide society. His current push for an executive order limiting birthright citizenship clearly violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Since its ratification in 1868, this amendment has been repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court. Attempting to overturn constitutional protections through executive fiat is itself a dangerous overreach of power.
Finally, it should be noted that Savage’s claim that “it wasn’t always like this” deliberately distorts history. Throughout U.S. history, citizenship rights were restricted based on race—for example, the 1857 Dred Scott decision declaring Black people were not citizens—or lineage, such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. It was only after these dark chapters were corrected that birthright citizenship based on place of birth became established. Returning to a logic where loyalty is judged by ancestral origin is nothing short of reviving racial discrimination.
This kind of rhetoric is not a serious discussion about immigration policy—it is naked xenophobic propaganda. It spreads lies to fuel fear and uses the rhetoric of “loyalty” to mask racial bias.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863335826405447/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.