[JumpCrisscross]

Eh, democratic values and norms are not universally held and essential to the health of a republic. The proper question is whether the inbound population is statistically different from the native one; in America, I’d argue immigrants strengthen our democracy.

[lanstin]

The people I grew up with in North Carolina are much less committed to democratic norms than the immigrants I currently live with and among. As well, those "native" folks were virulently anti-intellectual and tormented me for loving mathematics and working hard to learn mathematics and computers, something very few immigrants seem to find sensible.

Many immigrants do come in order to work extremely hard to gain prosperity for themselves and their families, which honestly seems pretty in line with US values, but many come explicitly for the culture of freedom, freedom to do and think as they choose without having to constantly battle neighbors relatives over every little thing unconventional thing they want to do. They have given up the convenience of living near family, often given up the social status of being top in their society, for freedom, as embodied in the US culture of fast cars, eccentric geniuses, rock and roll, artistic and intellectual freedom and expression, and so on. The very living avatars of the US thirst for freedom, free of the entitlement and fear of hard work that seems to be a common outcome for growing up here.