I remember people defecting from the USSR when I was a kid. I do not remember them being treated like crap. But it served our government to look like a benefactor at that time. Seeking asylum is different than being illegal. Average person in the US seems to be ignorant of this fact. Unless you are Native American or descendant of slaves, your ancestors went through the process. It was more open to immigrants at one time. But it is not illegal to seek asylum. So there's no reason to treat asylum seekers like criminals. Certainly there is a vetting procedure. But it should not be treated as a criminal process.