Liberals and progressives within the Democratic Party and allied liberal media have made it abundantly clear to everyone that they have placed upon a pedestal and granted special priority to the illegal immigrants attempting to flood across our nation’s southern border.

Whether intended as such or not, that overt deference to illegal immigrants comes across as a blatant slap in the face to those immigrants who endured the arduous process of coming to this country through legal means, not to mention the American citizens who’ve seen their own wants and needs set aside for the desires of peoples with no legitimate business being in this nation.

An example of the sort of legal immigrant who has been ignored or overlooked by illegal immigrant-obsessed Democrats is Bakr Ali, an Iraqi man who became personal friends with Fox News host Pete Hegseth when he served in the Iraq War as a member of the U.S. Army.

Hegseth recently paid homage to his friend Ali — who recently completed the lengthy legal process to immigrate to America with his family on a special visa — and invited him to fly from his new home in Houston, Texas to visit New York City for the first time.

“For my family, we are so pleased to be here. They can now improve themselves through education and we have the rights which we don’t have there,” Ali said after Hegseth picked him up from the airport and took him to see the Statue of Liberty.

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As for what that famed statue meant to him, Ali said, “You feel like you are part of this country and part of this community.”

.@PeteHegseth takes his Iraqi battlefield ally, Bakr Ali on a tour around New York City pic.twitter.com/h9lzHiDpX2 — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) July 3, 2018

Asked about his reaction to seeing so many American flags everywhere, Ali replied, “These people are proud to be in this country, and you feel as if you are part of these people who love the country and want to protect it. And here is where I want to be.”

Following the Statue of Liberty, Hegseth took Ali to Ground Zero, the footprint of the twin towers brought down in 2001 by terrorists, which led to Hegseth’s eventual deployment to Iraq and chance meeting with Ali, whose family joined with the Americans to battle al-Qaida terrorists in that country, as they shared the same principles of wanting to defend innocent people from the harm inflicted by barbaric terrorists.

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The duo then traveled to Times Square where Ali mentioned that he had watched the previous New Year’s celebrations on TV and was considering attending the event in person next year … something he could easily do as he is free to move about America and go wherever he pleases, something he couldn’t always do in Iraq.

The segment then transitioned into the “Fox & Friends” studio where Ali joined Hegseth on the couch with co-hosts Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt, where he was again asked for his thoughts on America as a newly arrived legal immigrant.

“Well, it’s a great country. I mean, when you cross all of this big nation and you’ll be part of it and you’ll feel so proud that you’ll be an American as soon as possible,” Ali said. “So, yeah, it’s a great nation, a great country that is full of opportunities.”

Hegseth and Ali then discussed how they had come to meet each other — Ali’s father governed a town that was attacked by al-Qaida terrorists and decided to team up with the American soldiers to fight them off — as well as some close calls they experienced during the war.

This man placed his own life and that of his family at risk in order to stand up against evil and side with good, and though it took some time, he was eventually rewarded for that sacrifice with a special visa to come to America with his family.

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There is no doubt that this legal immigrant loves his new nation — indeed, he intends to become a citizen as soon as possible — and would willingly place his life on the line again in defense of this country that has brought him in.

Contrast that overwhelming sense of gratitude and patriotism with the attitudes displayed by many of the illegal immigrants held up by the left who demand immediate entry and feel entitled to be granted citizenship without having made any sacrifices or gone through the legal process of immigration, and the juxtaposition of legal versus illegal immigrant becomes crystal clear.

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