There is no such animal as American exceptionalism.
Maybe not now, and certainly not after Trump fucks this place up. But, since the 14th amendment, and I would argue, because of it, America was exceptional.
Take WWI. Sure, we were slow to get in on the action, but when those American soldiers showed up, holy shit, they were HUGE. Of course, many of them were part of the 369th Infantry regiment, the Harlem Hellfighters. Few people realize that, and how did those fighters come to be--the 14th amendment.
Same for WWII. Birthright citizenship played a role, but so did the CCC. Individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds learned to work together years before WWII. Those that are against immigration, both legal and illegal, are clueless. Immigrants, both illegal and legal, have lower incarceration rates, lower use of hospital rates, higher rates of entrepreneurship, and they pay tqxes, billions of dollars worth to Social Security alone, knowing they will get nothing in return.
We don't have an immigration problem, we have a white trash problem. Trump is white trash, his supporters are white trash, and things are about to get real.