I really do understand what the author went through, and I sympathize. But the reality of the situation is that entering a country where you are not a citizen is not a right, it's a _privilege_.
The reality of the situation is that any country that treats its most productive guests in this way won't remain an attractive destination, regardless of whether those guests have the right or privilege of visiting.
I'm wondering when that's going to happen because it seems that the US has always treated people this way since nigh on the beginning of its time.
It's one of the few countries in existence with a century-long isolationist movement, and in decade after decade has had anti-immigration sentiment run high for one immigrant group after another.
Maybe our relatively high resource-to-population ratio and economic inertia allow us to maintain a large enough economy that people have no choice but to come, regardless of how badly they are treated.
The reality of the situation is that any country that treats its most productive guests in this way won't remain an attractive destination, regardless of whether those guests have the right or privilege of visiting.