Leftists, whenever they want to grant amnesty or refuge to people who do not deserve it, echo this: "Immigrants are the backbone of America." Usually adding if you are against immigration, you're anti-American. Of course in the fine print is the word "illegal." No matter. Leftists can just sweep that one under the prayer mat. Most people aren't against immigration. We're against ILLEGAL immigration. How is this hard? But let's not get distracted.

File the "Immigrants are the backbone of America" meme under: "Never use for a drinking game." Because your liver cannot handle it.

Immigrants have NEVER been the backbone of America. America has been the backbone of America. "Immigrants" aren't any more our "strength" than anyone else. "Diversity" is of precisely zero intrinsic value.

Yep, I bolded and italicized that for extra boom factor. Let it rock your world. Now allow me to explain.

America is a nation of great ideas.

If the bolded statement offends you, congratulations. You're part of the problem. Because you see people through labels: "immigrants" is simply the one most in vogue. But America wasn't "built by immigrants." It was built by people who wanted to build America -- a country that embraced a specific set of ideals, the mantle of which was freedom. The countries from which these individuals hailed was, and is, irrelevant. What mattered (and still matters) is a citizenry that wanted to build a great new country, taking part in the world's greatest (and most successful) experiment.

Humor me for a second and let's strip away the label "immigrant" for this paragraph, okay? Original country, religion, race, sexual orientation are entirely inconsequential if someone wants to help build what America already is: a beacon of freedom, a place where wealth is created based on good ideas, ingenuity and hard work. Historically, America is a reaction to the problem of tyranny, government overreach, and religious oppression. The settlers to America were scratching more than their itch to explore, they were hoping to quench the thirst of freedom. The experiment payed off, resulting in a country which embraced the premise that all men (people, it means PEOPLE, you feminist hags) are created equal, endowed by their CREATOR (not government) with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"Diversity" is overrated.

America's backbone is not a diverse group of skin tones, religions, or languages. America's backbone is freedom and the opportunity to thrive. Its settlers, those who built it into what it is today, simply held those foundational beliefs. As did wave after wave of immigrants who sought this land.

Which means pandering to "immigrants" by lumping them all in the same basket (let's be honest, to buy votes), shortchanges those people who actually do hold America's values as their own. In this case, LEGAL immigrants. See, legal immigrants follow the laws set forth in the country they hope to be a part of. Which makes nothing but perfect sense. Like the original settlers of America, modern legal immigrants are fleeing their home countries to come to America for a better life. That is not a cliche, it's a simple fact.

Legal immigrants want to be American. They learn the culture and language. But the values of America? They already have them. Legal immigrants are instilled with a desire to prosper, thrive, and work for their better lives. Better lives they couldn't achieve in their country of origin. If they see America in any other light, this is not the place for them.

Real world example: my mother is an immigrant. Her status of "immigrant" is benign, for labeling purposes only. Her label as "immigrant" doesn't make her any more America's "strength" than the next woman who was born stateside. What makes my mother "strong" is her work ethic, values and love for America. Her accent is also pretty damn funny.

Because guess what? A person born here who doesn't exemplify American values? Who is instead a drain on society by being general leech? That's a net loss for a country, not a net gain. Meaning immigrant or not, it is the character of a person that matters more than where they were born. Gosh, feels like I've said that before.

Analogy time...

If a teacher told her entire classroom she was going to give everyone a B in order to be "fair," you know who'd be angry? The "A" students. Who sacrificed, studied, earned. They'd want to be recognized and rewarded for their merits.

You know who'd be thrilled with the teacher's sudden decree? The "D" students. Who didn't bother to sacrifice, study or earn. Instead they grab onto the coattails of those students who worked. #Fairness. Yes, the above is what leftists are doing now. They are throwing generations of hard-working, legal immigrants under the bus in order to buy "D student" votes. Why? Because those votes come cheap.

The current "immigration" debate is merely the regressive left's latest attempt to strip people of their individuality in order to give more power to the state. The left, when it comes to immigration, isn't looking at people for their beliefs, or whether or not they would make America better. Leftists simply care about labels. Specifically the illegal immigrant label. Labels over substance.

There are people who've traveled far and wide to become a part of the United States. It is these people who stand to lose the most by the left's attitude of "All immigrants are great, woo hoo." LEGAL immigrants went through a long and arduous process to proudly become citizens of the greatest country in the world. But if the left has their way, the newest opressed class du jour will cut ahead of these people who already hold America's ideals at heart.

Worse, illegal immigrants who don't give a rat's hind end about American values, but who are here to mooch the system, will change the country. So the USA hardworking, LEGAL immigrants so desperately sought... won't even be the USA anymore. Everybody gets screwed. #Fairness

~ Co-written by Steven Crowder and Courtney Kirchoff