Arnold Schwarzenegger was called out on The View Tuesday, as the former California governor declared, amid Donald Trump’s mass deportations, that immigrants need to “do things legal.”
When Schwarzenegger was asked how he would handle California’s loud opposition to Trump and ICE over the administration’s mass deportations, he began, “I just think the world of the great history we have with immigrants.”
“But the thing is also, at the same time, is that we got to do things legal, and those people that are doing illegal things in America, they are not smart,” he continued, echoing Trump’s sentiments that a large swath of immigrants are engaging in criminal behavior.
The comments immediately activated Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin, and a gasp could be heard as soon as it the sentence left his lips.
“Arnold, don’t forget 90 percent of the people who come here are trying to do the right thing,” Goldberg softly interjected once he was done making his points. The Terminator star sipped his coffee and offered an almost indiscernible nod in response. Hostin then chimed in that immigrants are “less likely to commit crimes in this country than actually American-born citizens.”
Joy Behar pressed him further on the subject, perhaps expecting a sharper condemnation of Trump’s immigration policies: “As an immigrant yourself, did you have a visceral reaction to what they’re doing, what ICE is doing, when you see the videos of it?”
Schwarzenegger sidestepped the question as he praised America for what he was able to accomplish as an immigrant: “My bodybuilding career, if it’s my acting career, becoming governor, the beautiful family that I’ve created, all of this is because of America.” He remained seemingly resolute that “crime” was something that needed to be addressed when talking about immigration in America.
“When you come to America, you’re guests, and you have to behave like a guest,” he said. “That is the right thing to do, rather than committing a crime or being abusive or something like that. That doesn’t really work in this country.”
Schwarzenegger’s insinuation that most immigrants were committing crimes struck a nerve amongst the View hosts in light of Trump’s original claimed his immigration policies would only target violent criminals. Once in office, however, his administration instructed ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day, regardless of criminal history—and including those with legal status.
Characterizing immigrants and ICE protestors as “animals” and “not human” has served as the president’s justification for the sweeping arrests and detainments. Schwarzenegger had no condemnation to offer for those moves on Tuesday. Instead, at the risk of inciting further pushback on the subject, the former Republican governor made a plea for bipartisanship in these ultra-partisan times.
“It is very important that we work together,” Schwarzenegger said, “Democrats and Republicans have to come together and solve this issue” of immigration reform. “That’s why we’re in this mess.”
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