Politics & Power Quote by Marvin Olasky

A conditional welcome is doing most of the political work here. Olasky frames immigration not as a demographic fact or humanitarian dilemma but as a moral audition: entrants are sorted into builders and takers, patriots and parasites. The power of the line is its simplicity. "Our test" sounds procedural, almost civic-minded, but it quietly imports a thick set of assumptions about what counts as loyalty, contribution, and "America" itself. The verb pair "tear it down" and "live off of others" fuses national security panic with welfare-state suspicion, turning two separate anxieties into a single disqualifying profile.

Subtext: the immigrant is on probation. Belonging is not a right or even a default aspiration; it is contingent on performing the correct version of self-reliance and deference. "Welcomed" is tellingly domestic and social, not legal. It suggests that immigration policy is also about cultural gatekeeping - who gets to be embraced by the imagined family. The phrase "live off of others" also carries a coded argument about public assistance, implying that needing support is indistinguishable from exploitation, and that the burden of proof rests with the newcomer.

Context matters: Olasky is known for championing faith-based, private charity over expansive government welfare. Read through that lens, the quote isn’t just about borders; it’s about a broader ethic of deservingness. Immigration becomes a proxy battleground for debates over redistribution, national identity, and whether America is a refuge, a contract, or a club.