Tensions ran high on US talk show The View recently as Whoopi Goldberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger engaged in a heated exchange over immigration during the actor’s appearance on the show.
Schwarzenegger, 77, who was promoting the second season of his Netflix action-comedy series FUBAR, found himself at odds with the panel after suggesting that immigrants should “behave like a guest” in America.
Asked how he would approach the current immigration protests and what many have called an ongoing crisis, the former California governor said the solution lies in collaboration between local, state, and federal governments.
But the conversation took a turn when Joy Behar pressed him on how his personal experience as an immigrant shaped his outlook.
While the Austrian-born star said he was grateful for his life in the US, he emphasized the need for legal immigration.
“The key thing also is, at the same time, that we got to do things legal,” Schwarzenegger said. “That is the important thing, you know?”
“You got to do things legal. And those people that are doing illegal things in America, they’re the foreigners, they are not smart,” he added. “Because when you come to America, you’re a guest. And you have to behave like a guest.”
He elaborated with an analogy: “Like when I go to someone’s house, and I’m a guest, then I will do everything I can — keep things clean, and to make my bed, and to do everything that is the right thing to do, rather than committing a crime or be abusive or something like that.”
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Co-host Whoopi Goldberg quickly pushed back: “Right, but Arnold, don’t forget – 90 percent of the people who come here are trying to do the right thing,” she said.
She continued, “And a lot of what’s happening right now is people are getting snatched who shouldn’t be snatched out of the country. People who have visas, people who have all those things. So, we want all the right people. We don’t want people who are doing bad stuff.”
Sunny Hostin also joined the discussion, pointing out: “Immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes in this country than actually American-born citizens.”
The debate followed a weekend of anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, which erupted after raids conducted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Similar demonstrations were held in over 30 cities nationwide, many targeting what critics call the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
Speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel show last week, Schwarzenegger pushed back against media portrayals of Los Angeles as a “war zone” amid the protests, arguing that the coverage misrepresents the actual scope of the demonstrations.
He said that “they make it out like it is a war zone — the whole Los Angeles — the whole city or the county.”
He claimed that “maybe 0.001 per cent of the area of Los Angeles has problems” from the protests.
Schwarzenegger further expressed concern that exaggerated media coverage could harm tourism, saying he doesn’t want visitors deterred by “what they see on television.”