Comedian Bill Maher discussed the importance of immigrants assimilating into American culture during his latest episode of HBO’s “Real Time.” He emphasized that assimilation involves accepting key values like gay rights, women’s equality, and free speech. According to Maher, these are not exclusive to White culture but are liberal values.

In his critique, Maher targeted both Democrats and Republicans for their extreme approaches to immigration. He noted, “If you want the American dream, you have to take the American values.” He criticized President Biden’s open-door policy and former President Trump’s broken-window strategy, advocating for a return to America’s tradition of welcoming hard-working, talented immigrants from around the globe.

Maher expressed concern over a perceived shift among some immigrants away from adapting to Western cultural norms. He remarked, “Something has changed in the attitude of those immigrating to the United States who may no longer believe they should adapt to western cultural standards.” Despite this, he acknowledged that most immigrants still desire assimilation.

Now, most immigrants still want to assimilate, but some now have this other attitude of, ‘melting pot? F— you, you melt.’

Maher highlighted the benefits of diversity in America, encouraging immigrants to maintain their unique cultural practices, like food and language, while asking a crucial question: “Do you like Western civilization? Because that’s what we are. And that’s not negotiable.”

He cited harmful cultural practices such as honor killings and female genital mutilation as non-negotiable in America, arguing that these are not ‘White values,’ but essentials fought for in liberalism.

Nicole Kreisberg, a professor at Penn State, offered a counterpoint to Maher’s perspective. She argued that America historically enforced an assimilation rather than a melting pot approach. She stated immigrants have faced cultural penalties if they fail to adopt American norms, particularly around language and societal customs.

Kreisberg noted that immigrants from Europe historically fared better in adapting compared to racial minorities. They often changed names, food preferences, and political affiliations to assimilate and reduce discrimination.

Immigrants past and present — such as Irish and Italians historically, or Chinese immigrants today — have sought to assimilate to avoid discrimination by changing their names to more ‘American’ ones.

Maher further sparked debate by questioning if support for gay rights remains a non-negotiable American value. His comments stemmed from congressional candidate Melissa Chaudhry’s stance, which seemed to omit LGBTQ+ issues due to cultural sensitivities.

Maher challenged the audience, asking if supporting LGBTQ rights should clash with accommodating other cultural norms.

The comedian criticized activist Linda Sarsour’s assertion that community priorities should not focus on assimilation, disputing her perspective on how immigration should work.

Maher concluded that supporting American values does not equate to Islamophobia. He insisted that his focus remains on preserving liberal values, regardless of race.