Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is doubling down on his belief that sound immigration policy fosters assimilation, saying Sunday that individuals coming to the U.S. need to “adopt our values.”
The bottom-tier Republican presidential candidate and son of two Indian immigrants appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday to discuss the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but much of the interview featured Jindal addressing the nation’s flawed immigration system and GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
“Once this summer of silliness and insults ends, voters are going to begin looking at who is prepared to do the job [and] who is the most intelligent,” Jindal told host Martha Raddatz.
The two-term governor repeatedly dodged questions about Trump’s recent accusation that longtime Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, is likely sharing classified intel with her husband, disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, instead telling Raddatz, “I think I’m going to be the nominee.”
Upon being asked about immigration policy, Jindal, who has been accused of having “antiquated” views on the matter, discussed the role that cultural assimilation can have in building a stronger America.
“I think we need to insist that folks who come here, come here legally, learn English and roll up our sleeves and get to work,” he said.
Raddatz was quick to interrupt, asking Jindal: “What do you mean adopt our values? What values do you believe immigrants don’t have that Americans do?”
“Well look, what I worry about is if you look to Europe, the contrast is you’ve got second and third-generation immigrants that don’t consider themselves parts of those societies, those cultures,” he responded. “We, in our country, shouldn’t be giving freedoms to people who want to undermine freedom for other people.”
“We need to move away from hyphenated Americans,” he added. “And the reason this is so important is that immigration without integration is not immigration, it’s invasion.”
According to the Louisiana governor, because we “don’t make people come here,” those who want to immigrate to the U.S. “should want to be Americans.”
“Millions of people across the world want to come here,” he said, adding that “a smart immigration policy allows people to come here legally to make the country stronger. That’s just common sense.”
Jindal is currently one of just two Republican hopefuls polling at less than 1 percent support among likely Republican primary voters, according to RealClearPolitics’ national polling average.
