Thank you so much for this factual reply debunking the GP's (very common) misconception.

Via popular media, there's a narrative that "it's easy to come here legally". Having done that myself, I know that it's not straightforward -- even if all of your paperwork + travel history is in order.

It's not easy for an individual to come to the US because it is such a popular thing to do. From the perspective of Americans, it appears that large numbers of regular people are accomplishing it (because they are - they're just numerically small compared to all the world's people who want to accomplish it).