America Is An Immigration Haven Compared To The World
The Dr. Phil Podcast
Dr. Phil McGraw
4.3 • 13.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 February 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Following Former President Barack Obama’s bashing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I’m sitting down with immigration attorney Deron Smallcomb for a data-driven reality check. How does U.S. immigration enforcement actually compare to other democracies? If America enforced immigration the way the UK, Australia, or Japan do, arrests would move faster, deportations would happen sooner, and appeals would be far more limited.
We’re breaking down:
• Appeal rights in the U.S. vs. peer nations
• Asylum approval rates
• Enforcement timelines
• Crime outcomes in countries with stricter policies
You can debate policy. But let’s debate facts. Watch the full conversation — then decide for yourself.
Thank you to our sponsor: Preserve Gold - text "ASK PHIL" to 50505 and go to https://DrPhilGold.com
Thank you to our sponsor: Chapter: Don’t wait! If you’re on Medicare or will be soon, reach out to Chapter. Call: (352)-845-0659 or go to https://askchapter.org/ to learn about your Medicare options and get help finding ways to save money.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | immigration law. Let's talk about how the United States compares to other democracies. |
| 0:04.5 | This idea of a sanctuary city or a sanctuary state for convicted criminals is absurd. |
| 0:10.5 | The UK criminalized illegal immigration where if you showed up, they would send you to Rwanda with no right to return while you're pursuing things. What is it in Japan? |
| 0:22.6 | They call it sushi wrapping. |
| 0:24.6 | They will literally pick up people that have overstayed in the streets. |
| 0:28.6 | They wrap them in this special blanket, and they take them and they put them on a plane. |
| 0:36.6 | Over the weekend, former President Barack Obama showed support for anti-ice protesters |
| 0:44.3 | in Minneapolis. |
| 0:45.3 | Didn't love that, but that alone isn't shocking. |
| 0:49.3 | What raised eyebrows, at least for me, is this. |
| 0:52.3 | President Obama compared ICE to what we see in authoritarian countries. |
| 0:58.9 | Even dictatorships, take a listen. Citizens saying, this is not the America we believe in, |
| 1:05.1 | and we're going to fight back, and we're going to push back with the truth and with cameras and with peaceful protests and and shining |
| 1:15.1 | a light on the sort of behavior that, you know, in the past, we've seen in authoritarian countries |
| 1:24.7 | and we've seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America. |
| 1:29.6 | Now, the media aided up. Here are some headlines. Obama compares ICE's rogue behavior in |
| 1:37.7 | Minnesota to dictatorships. And here was another one. This is not the America we believe in. |
| 1:45.1 | Another one. |
| 1:45.8 | Obama compares rogue ICE actions to authoritarian countries. |
| 1:51.3 | Here's the real story. |
| 1:53.7 | You can debate policy. |
| 1:55.2 | You can oppose the current administration. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Phil McGraw, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Phil McGraw and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.