In a conversation on “The View,” former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger discussed the “responsibility” that immigrants bear upon arriving in America. He emphasized the importance of adhering to legal pathways and behaving respectfully as guests in the country.
Schwarzenegger praised the rich history of immigration in America but stressed the necessity of legality. “The most crucial aspect is doing things legally,” he stated. “Those who act illegally in America, particularly as foreigners, are not wise. Just as I would act as a respectful guest at someone else’s home, immigrants should strive to act appropriately—keeping things orderly and steering clear of crime. Being disruptive just doesn’t work here,” Schwarzenegger explained.
The hosts also questioned Schwarzenegger about the presence of ICE in Los Angeles and whether he would have deployed the National Guard had he been in office.
“You have a responsibility as an immigrant to give back to America and to pay back to America and go and do something for your community for no money whatsoever. Give something back to after-school programs, Special Olympics, or whatever it is, make this a better place,” the former California governor said.
The hosts pushed back on Schwarzenegger as Whoopi Goldberg insisted “90% of the people who come here are trying to do the right thing.”
“Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes in this country than actual American-born citizens,” co-host Sunny Hostin told Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger also called for immigration reform during the discussion and said both Democrats and Republicans needed to work together to pass it.
“All of this is happening because we don’t have immigration reform,” he said. “Democrats and Republicans have to come together and solve this issue if they really want to be public servants. If they want to be party servants, and be party hacks, and be tied to their ideology, then it won’t happen.”
Schwarzenegger has spoken out about the LA riots and said the media was making it out to be a “war zone.”
He told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel last week that he agreed with his recent take on the current state of LA, in which Kimmel mocked the media for portraying the anti-ICE protests as “some kind of totalitarian hellscape” and condemned the Trump administration for deporting “people who have lived here their whole lives.”
“I totally agree with you, by the way, Jimmy, because they make it out like it is a war zone — the whole Los Angeles — the whole city or the county,” he argued. “The fact of the matter is it’s maybe like 0.001% of the area of Los Angeles has problems and there’s a protest.”
“Democrats and the Republicans — both of the parties — have no interest in solving this problem [comprehensive immigration reform] because they use that to raise money,” Schwarzenegger told Kimmel. “So what they do is they just keep pointing the finger at each other, and then they’re surprised if all of a sudden we are using our middle finger on them.”
