From early in the nation's history, US immigration policy has reflected the tension between hospitality and hostility - between the desire to welcome immigrants and the perceived need to limit immigration to protect the interests of those already here.
"When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34).