Television presenter and pop scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson turned political recently when he chimed in on the immigration debate.
Tyson has been known to support liberal positions before, but this might be his most ignorant post in a long time.
Clearly, the tweet here is taking swipes at the conservative position on immigration, which by and large aims to cutdown illegal arrivals into the United States. Leftists in the media often portray this approach as Republicans wanting to cut back on all immigration, usually out of a place of race-based hatred.
Now, Tyson’s stats aren’t wrong — his error is in how he applies them to this conversation.
The United States has been, and will continue to be, a highly attractive place for immigrants all over the world. Compared to just about every other nation state on Earth, the country is unabashedly pro-business, and provides a myriad of protections for civil liberties.
But, we also have a welfare state and a limited number of other public goods. This is why having a border is paramount.
Honestly, this tweet comes just short of suggesting that all immigrants into the United States are living here illegally, which is grossly untrue.
~ Facts Not Memes
