Subject: Re: Our worst enemy
How do 10M additional people running around factor into that? We've added something like enough people to populate a large state by now.

Because "border" isn't the same thing as "impenetrable barrier." We're a fairly open country, and we allow hundreds of millions of people to cross our borders for business, tourism, and other purposes every year. Because that provides us with innumerable benefits. A consequence of having a border, but one with many gates and ports, is that some portion of people are able to remain in the country without permission - the majority of which are visa overstays. Again - doesn't mean we don't have a border, just that no border (except for totalitarian security states like North Korea) is ever perfect.

And what exactly are these arguments?

That they face persecution and threats of violence, torture, and other harms in their home countries based upon their "race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." So if Jews are being persecuted in some country (to take an historical example), they can seek asylum here - even if their country is not in "upheaval." Similarly, if a dissident is being persecuted because they dare stand up to communism they can claim asylum (to use the classic instance of folks getting asylum after defecting from the Soviet Union).