They don't agree.

"Get in line" is a common phrase in immigration debates, but it isn't a literal queue. US immigration law lets people apply only if they fit a specific category, and Congress caps most categories each year. For some applicants, such as the spouse of a citizen, the process is fairly direct. For others, such as siblings of citizens from heavily oversubscribed countries or skilled workers from India, the backlog can run for decades. Many people, such as most low-skilled workers with no family ties, have no applicable category. Asylum and refugee routes are separate and depend on a person's circumstances. Exact wait times change monthly, so check the current Visa Bulletin and USCIS information.

• Main routes to permanent residence are family sponsorship, employer sponsorship, the diversity visa lottery (55,000 a year), and refugee or asylum status.
• Spouses, minor children and parents of adult US citizens are "immediate relatives" with no annual cap, so they wait only for processing.
• Other family categories and employment categories have annual caps and per-country limits. The State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin shows waits of many years, and in some categories decades, for countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, India and China.
• People without a qualifying family member, employer or humanitarian claim generally have no available line.
• Naturalization comes after permanent residence, usually 5 years (3 if married to and living with a US citizen), plus other requirements.

The phrase combines two distinct steps: obtaining permission to immigrate permanently and later becoming a citizen. Real administrative queues exist for certain immigration categories, but they are not a universal citizenship waiting list. Eligibility comes first; willingness to wait alone does not create an immigration route.

• Immigration routes include qualifying family relationships, employment, humanitarian protections, and the diversity visa program.
• Some family- and employment-based green-card categories have actual waiting lists, ordered by priority dates and affected by annual visa limits and country limits.
• Those visa queues are for permanent residence, not citizenship itself.
• The usual citizenship route requires first becoming a lawful permanent resident, then meeting naturalization requirements—generally after five years, or three years for qualifying spouses of U.S. citizens.
• Eligible applicants apply for naturalization through USCIS using Form N-400.

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2. travel.state.gov
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5. uscis.gov
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8. uscis.gov

In public debates about immigration, critics of unauthorized migration often suggest individuals should simply 'wait in line' or follow the legal process. Under US immigration law, however, there is no universal application list that an individual can simply join. The standard pathway to naturalization begins with obtaining lawful permanent residency (a green card), which is strictly limited to specific statutory categories—primarily close family relationships, specialized employment sponsorships, refugee/asylum status, and the Diversity Immigrant Visa program. A person who does not meet one of these specific criteria has no mechanism to apply for residency, meaning for much of the global population, no line exists to stand in.

• To become a naturalized US citizen, an applicant must first obtain lawful permanent resident (green card) status and hold it for three to five years.
• US law allocates permanent residency primarily through family ties, employer sponsorship, refugee or asylum status, and the diversity visa lottery.
• There is no general or universal queue for people without a qualifying family member, employer sponsor, or humanitarian ground.
• For those who qualify for capped categories, waiting times set by the State Department Visa Bulletin range from months to decades depending on the category and country of birth.
• The phrase 'get in line' is a political metaphor rather than a unified administrative process.

The question treats "the line" as a real place, but in US immigration it is a metaphor for the legal process. That process is made up of multiple separate queues, each with its own eligibility rules and waiting times, and eligibility is the gate: if a person fits no category, there is no queue to enter. The factual structure of the system is well documented and not in dispute; what is debated publicly is policy, not where a line is.

• "Get in line" is a rhetorical phrase used in immigration debate; US law provides no single queue or physical location to stand in.
• Legal immigration runs through distinct channels: close-family sponsorship, employer sponsorship, the diversity visa lottery, refugee resettlement and asylum, among others.
• Congress sets the categories and annual caps in the Immigration and Nationality Act; the current preference system dates from the 1965 amendments.
• Waiting times differ sharply by category and country of birth, with per-country limits of about 7 percent of the total; some family and employment backlogs run many years, and are longest for countries such as Mexico, India, China and the Philippines.
• People present in the US without legal status generally cannot adjust to a green card from inside the country in most cases and often have no category they qualify for, so no line is open to them.

The idea of a "line" to stand in for U.S. citizenship is a common misconception. Unlike a physical queue, the process of becoming an American citizen is not a single, uniform pathway. Most immigrants must qualify for legal status through specific channels: family sponsorship (e.g., being the spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen), employment-based visas, or humanitarian protection (such as asylum or refugee status). Each of these pathways has its own eligibility requirements, application processes, and waiting periods, which can vary widely depending on individual circumstances, country of origin, and legal changes. The process is not a simple queue but a complex, individualized journey with no guaranteed outcome, even after years of waiting and meeting requirements.

• There is no single, universal "line" for immigrants to become U.S. citizens.
• Most immigrants can only pursue legal status through family sponsorship, employment, or humanitarian protection.
• The process is long, complex, and financially demanding, with no guaranteed outcome.
• Eligibility for naturalization depends on factors such as residency, legal status, and moral character.
• The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) manages the naturalization process, which includes applications, interviews, and tests.

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2. 10 Steps to Naturalization | USCIS uscis.gov
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8. 5 Steps to U.S. Citizenship | Santa Clara County Library District sccld.org