Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked “The View’s” Joy Behar, when he shut down her attempt to stir up anti-ICE sentiment.
Instead, he called on newcomers to the United States to treat the country with the same respect they’d show when entering someone else’s home.
“You are an immigrant yourself – an immigrant of the country,” Behar stated. ‘Did you have a visceral reaction to what they’re doing – what ICE is doing [in LA]?’
“Let me tell you – you said “immigrant” – I’m so proud and happy that I was embraced by the American people like that,” he replied. “I mean, in no other country in the world could you do that.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't take the bait when The View's Joy Behar asks him about the ICE raids in California:
"I'm so, so happy to see first-hand that this IS the greatest country in the world and it IS the land of opportunity…
…When you come to America, you're a guest.… pic.twitter.com/4FKa47Q6KM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
Schwarzenegger, who immigrated from Austria in the late 1960s and became a U.S. citizen in 1983, said about his fame, “All of this is because of America.”
He went on to blast “foreigners” for committing crimes in their new home, calling them “not smart.”
“When you come to America, you’re a guest, and you have to behave like a guest,” he continued.
Drawing on a personal analogy, the 77-year-old actor said, “When I go to someone’s house and I’m a guest, then I will do everything I can to keep things clean, and to make my bed and to do everything that is the right thing to do rather than committing a crime, or being abusive or something like that.”
“Those people that are doing illegal things in America, and they’re the foreigners, they are not smart,” the FUBAR star added. “We got to do things legal — that is the important thing.”
He acknowledged the opportunity the U.S. offers to immigrants but stressed a responsibility to contribute.
“Immigrants come to this country to use America for the great opportunities that America has in education, in jobs, creating a family, all of those kind of things,” he explained.
“Then you have to think about, ‘OK, if I get all of those things from America, then I have to give something back.'”
Schwarzenegger urged immigrants to pay it forward to the country they now call home.
“You have a responsibility as an immigrant to give back to America, and to pay back America, and to go and do something for your community for no money whatsoever,” he encouraged.
“Give something back to after school programs, Special Olympics, or whatever it is — make this country a better place.”
The discussion also turned to recent unrest in Los Angeles, where anti-ICE protests have escalated into riots.
The state’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom challenged the federal government, daring Trump to deploy troops.
President Donald Trump responded by mobilizing 2,000 National Guard troops to restore order, a move Newsom’s office is fighting in court.
The deployment was temporarily upheld by a federal appeals court on Thursday.
Schwarzenegger avoided diving into the partisan feud and instead offered a diplomatic approach.
“It means that you have to work together with local government, the state government and the federal government,” he urged. “They have to work together rather than fighting each other.”
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked what approach Schwarzenegger would take if he were still leading California.
“I think the most important thing is, when you are in a leadership position like that, is that you are inclusive and that you work together with everybody,” he replied.
He also made a call for bipartisanship amongst politicians who are supposed to be for the people, rather than their own party.
“Democrats and Republicans have to come together and solve this issue if they really want to be public servants,” the actor stated.
“If they want to be party servants, and be party hacks and be tied to their ideology, then it won’t happen.”
“But if you want to make this country better, and if you want to improve this country and improve the situation of people’s lives, and bring the prices down and all of this, you will go and serve the people of America,” he added.
Meanwhile, the price tag from the protests continues to soar. Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia confirmed in a social media post Friday that taxpayer costs linked to the unrest have risen to more than $32 million.
🧊 UPDATE: ICE RAIDS HAVE NOW COST LA TAXPAYERS $32 MILLION
🚔 $29.5 million or 92% relates to LAPD's response to protests against ICE including citywide tactical alert costs
🛠️ $1.4 million relates to clean-up / public property damage
🧑⚖️ Does not include potential lawsuits pic.twitter.com/6sWZALDKeZ
— LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia (@lacontroller) June 20, 2025
Mejia said over $29 million was spent on police deployments, with additional costs covering damage, lost tourism revenue, and over $1.1 million in fire department services.
He warned that the final tally could be higher due to “potential lawsuits,” adding further strain to the city’s budget.
At the center of the legal battle is Newsom’s effort to prevent federal control of California’s National Guard units.
The spokesperson for the governor’s office tried to redirect blame toward the Trump administration.
“Let me remind you, the federal government continues to add to our deficit with Trump’s authoritarian display — on top of the $134 million taxpayers are already footing,” the said.
The spokesperson also criticized the president’s proposed public safety spending adjustments.
“If Trump was … truly about ‘law and order,’ he wouldn’t be proposing to gut public safety funding across the country — putting the safety and lives of all Americans at risk.”
“Trump’s so-called ‘big beautiful bill’ threatens to erase substantial progress on public safety, at a time when exactly the opposite is needed,” the statement concluded.
Watch full interview on “The View” here: