Introduction:
Immigration stands as one of the most enduring and significant topics of human history. From the earliest migrations of our ancestors to the modern-day global movement of peoples, the story of immigration is one of courage, hope, and resilience. It shapes cultures, economies, and societies, sparking debates and conversations that transcend borders. Through the lens of immigration, we glimpse into the complex tapestry of human experience, where individuals embark on journeys in pursuit of new beginnings, better opportunities, and a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.
In this collection of immigration quotes, we delve into the diverse perspectives and voices that illuminate this multifaceted phenomenon. From celebrated authors and influential leaders to ordinary individuals who have experienced the joys and challenges of migration, these quotes encapsulate the essence of immigration its triumphs, struggles, and profound impact on the human experience. As you explore these words, may you gain insight, empathy, and a deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry of human migration that shapes our world. Below, you’ll find a selection of poignant quotes on this topic, each offering a unique perspective on the journey of immigration and its significance in our lives.
I always get stopped by security and immigration, telling me, ‘Tell me who the terrorist is, or we won’t stamp your passport!’ The last time that somebody did that to me – at LAX, actually – I was like, ‘Hey, don’t ever ask a brown girl that in an American airport!’ Priyanka Chopra
Mr. Speaker, our Nation depends on immigrants’ labor, and I hope we can create an immigration system as dependable as they are. Luis Gutierrez
Besides taking jobs from American workers, illegal immigration creates huge economic burdens on our health care system, our education system, our criminal justice system, our environment, our infrastructure and our public safety. Jan C. Ting
I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, ‘What are you?’ Grace Hopper
For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes. Mette Frederiksen
At the basis of a country’s immigration policy is the recognition that a country has the right to pursue its interests first, and whenever it wishes to be altruistic and humane, this is instantiated without ever risking the danger of its citizens and/or its cultural values. Gad Saad
I don’t see how the party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. Newt Gingrich
The U.S. immigration laws are bad – really, really bad. I’d say treatment of immigrants is one of the greatest injustices done in our government’s name. Bill Gates
Multiculturalism for any western country is a massive issue. The lack of integration, the increase of crime, violence, and mistrust in society, the segregation created due to mass immigration, these are only the beginning phases of something I fear will almost certainly get more worse and violent. Lauren Southern
With all the negativity going on in the world right now, people need an escape. When you give them a hit record or a great record, it allows them to escape for at least three to four minutes. They’re not thinking bills or economy or immigration or war when you create that kind of ambiance. Pitbull
Every two years for Congress, four years for President, illegal immigration comes out as a political issue. Joe Arpaio
I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigration. Hillary Clinton
It is the purpose of the majority of the Immigration Committee to encourage assimilation, yet this bill has already done more than anything I know of to bring about discord among our resident aliens. Emanuel Celler
I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to restore dignity and humanity to our immigration policies and to respectfully uphold America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants. Alex Padilla
Mass immigration changes countries beyond recognition. Ordinary people are well aware of that. Geert Wilders
If we don’t stop immigration – this torrent of immigrants coming in – we’re not going to be America anymore because most of the people coming in have no experience with limited government. They don’t know what that is. Phyllis Schlafly
Immigration is not just compatible with but is a necessary component of economic growth. Dave Reichert
See, as a libertarian, I am actually far more liberal on the issue of immigration than many people might expect. Kat Timpf
We are committed to ensuring that immigration is not further criminalized and that all immigrants are treated with dignity and provided with a path to citizenship. Cori Bush
The typical jobs that a lower-skilled immigration worker might do might be construction work, it might be hospitality work, it might be restaurant work, or might be not working at all and just going onto the welfare system if there isn’t a job for that individual. Stephen Miller
Proper training and federal supervision in state-federal partnerships are essential to both assuring constitutional rights and enforcing our immigration laws. Our Founding Fathers’ concept of federalism does not prohibit such cooperation, and we have learned from experience that joint efforts work best. Asa Hutchinson
Our nation stands at the crossroads of liberty. Crushing national debt, rampant illegal immigration, insane business regulations and staggering national unemployment are pushing our nation into unchartered territory. James Lankford
We have a long, ugly history of white supremacy in this country, ranging from Jim Crow laws to keep African Americans down to the 1924 Immigration Act to keep non-Europeans out. Max Boot
We must enforce the laws we have on the books, secure our borders, and deny special benefits to illegal immigrants such as in-state tuition rates. This approach is best for American citizens and is fair to those who have taken the time and effort to go through the legal immigration process. Ron DeSantis
Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens. Thomas Sowell
The Libertarian position on immigration is to have, not open borders with no restrictions, but to have controlled borders that allow hard-working people to come into America to help raise their standard of living and improve the American economy. Michael Badnarik
How can we possibly say the root of the Canadian approach to citizenship and immigration comes from Europe or the United States? I mean, we just don’t do the same things. What I’ve said, very simply, is that unlike other colonies, for the first 250 years approximately, indigenous people were either the dominant force or an equal force. John Ralston Saul
A Trump presidency – neutral between dictatorships and democracies, opposed to free trade, skeptical of traditional U.S. defense alliances, hostile to immigration – would mark the collapse of the entire architecture of the U.S.-led post-World War II global order. Bret Stephens
So now is an opportunity for us to stand up and have a good, strong immigration policy to make sure that E- Verify becomes mandatory and we have got to train and properly equip our Border Patrol. Allen West
It is vitally important that we implement immigration reform. We need a bill that strengthens our borders and protects this nation, but that also makes it simpler for good people to become Americans. Dave Reichert
Illegal immigration is crisis for our country. It is an open door for drugs, criminals, and potential terrorists to enter our country. It is straining our economy, adding costs to our judicial, healthcare, and education systems. Timothy Murphy
What we’re concerned about is massive immigration of unskilled workers, mostly from the Maghreb and Africa, which pulls down salaries in France. Marine Le Pen
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. John Kennedy
We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries. Nikki Haley
Our nation is built upon a history of immigration, dating back to our first pioneers, the Pilgrims. For more than three centuries, we have welcomed generations of immigrants to our melting pot of hyphenated America: British-Americans; Italian-Americans; Irish-Americans; Jewish-Americans; Mexican-Americans; Chinese-Americans; Indian-Americans. Ami Bera
Behind mass immigration, there is terrorism. Marine Le Pen
We must fix our immigration system so we control who comes and goes, and that starts by securing our southern border. Carlos Beruff
We will have to accept a certain degree of legal immigration; that’s globalisation… In the era of the smartphone, we cannot shut ourselves away… people know full well how we live in Europe. Angela Merkel
The current practice of extending U.S. citizenship to hundreds of thousands of ‘anchor babies’ must end because it creates a magnet for illegal immigration into our country. Now is the time to ensure that the laws in this country do not encourage law-breaking. Steve King
We must insist on assimilation – immigration without assimilation is an invasion. We need to tell folks who want to come here, they need to come here legally. They need to learn English, adopt our values, roll up their sleeves and get to work. Bobby Jindal
The most powerful nation on earth should be able to pass a fair, effective immigration law that combines compassion with responsibility and does not injure hard working Americans who are taxed up to here. Bill O’Reilly
A broken immigration system means broken families and broken lives. Jose Antonio Vargas
And you know, it’s not just illegal immigration. Terrorists can come across. They’re devastating our ranchers down in southern Arizona – drop houses, kidnapping, automobile accidents, extortion, drugs, the spill-over with the drug cartels. We’re facing all of it. Jan Brewer
If we can find a way to enforce our laws and keep people from coming into our country illegally while maintaining a strong legal immigration system, I think that’s going to benefit everyone. If you come here illegally, and you commit a crime, you’re not going to be able to stay in our country. Ronna McDaniel
Thousands of cities in America are crying out for relief from the burden of illegal immigration. Small towns like mine can no longer wait for Washington. Lou Barletta
While not a panacea for the nation’s illegal immigration problems, employer sanctions are one necessary means of stopping the exploitation of vulnerable workers and the undercutting of American jobs and living standards. Coretta Scott King
My record of opposition to illegal immigration is unquestioned. Ann Wagner
America has an obligation to secure its borders, but it is wrong to pass laws that treat human beings as something less than human. If my father were alive, he would be in the forefront of the struggle for a fair and humane reform of our immigration laws. Martin Luther King III
It is clear that United States immigration policy is badly in need of reform. Ander Crenshaw
I support concrete and progressive immigration reform based on three primary criteria: family reunification, economic contributions, and humanitarian concerns. Jeff Bingaman
I think, in Australia, the no-go areas wouldn’t be as bad as in Europe because they’ve got less mass immigration, but I’ve heard some pretty bizarre stories about riots, attacks. Lauren Southern
I think everyone wants to know why I look like this. These jokes I make about looking Chinese… My mother’s from Hungary and my dad was from Canada. There’s a lot of immigration in my past. Michael McIntyre
Immigration laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how to help people who break them. Thomas Sowell
Donald Trump believes in nation-state democracy; Hillary Clinton used the E.U. as a prototype for a larger global union. Donald Trump believes in sensible immigration controls. Nigel Farage
We believe in immigration, but we don’t believe in mass immigration. Maxime Bernier
What we have had to do in the Biden/Harris administration is build from the ground up our humane, orderly and safe immigration system. Alejandro Mayorkas
Everywhere I travel throughout Eastern Washington, I hear from people demanding we do a better job of controlling our borders and reducing illegal immigration. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Obama wants to raise the issue of immigration reform so that he can demonize Republicans as anti-Hispanic. That’s why Obama ignores the broad support for an immigration plan that would provide border security once and for all and then deal with the illegal immigrants who live here. Ben Shapiro
If you want to stop illegal immigration, you have to make it so that – so that the people that hire the illegal immigrants will not be in a position to hire them. Jesse Ventura
For years, elites in both political parties have ignored the illegal immigration crisis growing on America’s southern border. Charlie Kirk
If the U.S. doubled its total immigration and prioritized bringing in new workers, it could add more than half a percentage point a year to expected GDP growth. Kevin Hassett
Immigration is one of the leading contributors to population growth. Paul Watson
One way to stop illegal immigration is a border wall. John Kennedy
We can’t have – we can’t have a patchwork of 50 states developing their own immigration policy. I understand the frustration of people in Arizona. They want the federal government to step up and deal with this problem once and for all, and that’s what we want to do. David Axelrod
Illegal immigration costs taxpayers $45 billion a year in health care, education, and incarceration expenses. Ric Keller
You won’t hear the leadership in the Republican Party admit it, but there are many in the House and Senate who know that illegal immigration has to be stopped and legal immigration has to be reduced. We are giving away the country so a few very rich people can get richer. Virgil Goode
Automation has emerged as a bigger threat to American jobs than globalization or immigration combined. Oren Etzioni
If Donald Trump wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform, I will work with Donald Trump. Tom Perez
I was a stay-at-home mom, with an important job to raise the kids. I filled it into the occupation slot on innumerable immigration cards, looking at the officer with defiant pride. What was I then, now that actively raising my children was no longer my vocation? Shweta Bachchan Nanda
By patrolling our borders, we can take a proactive stand against human trafficking, violence, terrorism, and illegal immigration from spiraling out of control. Mike Parson
A lot of young people just starting out unskilled, as all Americans do when they’re born here, come to this country, and so the business community is for immigration. Big businesses, small businesses, high-tech, low-tech, the communities of faith, and the Republican leadership. Grover Norquist
We know that the United States Senate has passed comprehensive immigration reform. We know it can happen. And that, to me, is what we need to do. We have a broken immigration system. And I say this because we are a country that has always opened our doors. That’s who we are. Catherine Cortez-Masto
When Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio cracked down on illegal immigration without getting permission from Obama, they threatened to revoke his 287(g) status. When Sheriff Joe refused to balk, they filed suit against him with a frivolous civil rights claim. Russell Pearce
The immigration issue is, I recognize, one that generates a lot of passion, but it does not make sense for us to want to push talent out. Barack Obama
The further left you are, the more your concern for the underdog crowds out everything else, leading you to overlook inconsistencies. You might, for example, argue for immigration and multiculturalism in the UK, but not in the Amazon. You might demand equality before the law and, at the same time, gender quotas. Daniel Hannan
When you have a system that increases border security funding by about 300 percent, and it only increases funding for immigration courts by 70 percent, you have a disaster. Marc Veasey
No nation can have the policy that whole classes of people are immune from immigration law or enforcement. It was a simple decision by the administration to have a zero tolerance policy for illegal entry, period. The message is that no one is exempt from immigration law. Stephen Miller
Hospitals are closing across the country due to the burden of illegal immigration, college students find that summer jobs have dried up due to illegal immigration, and wages across the board are depressed by the overwhelming influx of cheap and illegal labor. Elton Gallegly
America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts. James Madison
Immigration is the major issue everywhere, and even the countries where it isn’t the number one issue, it ends up becoming one. Douglas Murray
Immigration has defined my entire life. My parents left Mozambique with nothing but their wits in search of a better life for their kids. They moved to England in the 1970s, saw the classism there, and left for America soon after. Jose Ferreira
65 immigration acts went through right at the time of the Great Society program. So pre-1970 immigrants – and that’s basically when it kicked in – pre-1970 immigrants, 30% went home. They couldn’t make it. Ann Coulter
In a world where unanimity is so difficult to achieve, there is one thing that – as to which there is unanimity, and that is the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Alejandro Mayorkas
Climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans’ care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scores of executive and judicial appointments on the list of matters that the world’s greatest deliberative body is incapable of addressing. George Packer
We must face up to the long-term failures of Britain’s approach to immigration and make the argument for an effective, compassionate and liberal alternative. Ed Davey
Most Christian ‘believers’ tend to echo the cultural prejudices and worldviews of the dominant group in their country, with only a minority revealing any real transformation of attitudes or consciousness. It has been true of slavery and racism, classism and consumerism and issues of immigration and health care for the poor. Richard Rohr
There is international criminal organizations penetrating our southern based borders, and we need to do something about it. Secure the border, enforce the law, no amnesty, and go forward with the legal immigration system that gives priority to American working families and wages. Scott Walker
Donald Trump has a very radical idea, and that’s that when we make changes to our immigration laws, the group we should be most concerned about are everyday, hardworking Americans, the citizens who make this country run, who obey the laws, follow the rules, pay their taxes, show up and vote – the people who are loyal to this country. Stephen Miller
We cannot afford all this illegal immigration and everything that comes with it, everything from the crime and to the drugs and the kidnappings and the extortion and the beheadings and the fact that people can’t feel safe in their community. It’s wrong! It’s wrong! Jan Brewer
We need legal immigration as an alternative to illegal immigration and a way of getting the millions of unauthorized immigrants already here to get legal and get in compliance with our laws. Luis Gutierrez
Immigration has tremendously changed the fabric of this country. Immigration is what built our NHS, when Britain invited people from the Commonwealth, from nations it had formerly colonized, in order to rebuild this country after the ravages of the Second World War. Ash Sarkar
My life has been, you know, immeasurably enriched by my wife and her family and her immigration story. John Fetterman
Mexican immigration poses challenges to our policies and to our identity in a way nothing else has in the past. Samuel P. Huntington
We must give Trump credit for asking many politically incorrect questions and challenging mainstream Republican dogma on immigration. Tom Tancredo
The fact is Canadians understand that immigration, that people fleeing for their lives, that people wanting to build a better life for themselves and their kids is what created Canada, it’s what created North America. Justin Trudeau
All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian. Pat Paulsen
I live in Arizona. I think the Hispanic people are amazing. I think when people talk about illegal immigration… it does them a disservice. Charles Barkley
I have dear friends of mine who represent real Republicans. Goldwater Republicans. Strong on defense. Tough on immigration. Fiscal conservatives. Alec Baldwin
I don’t happen to believe, by the way, that immigration policies that single people out because of religion, for instance, are fair and just. Bob Iger
Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done. Barack Obama
