They ARE helping terrorists. There is no hypothetical. San Bernadino DID happen. Apple is refusing to comply with a court order.
These are FACTS. Not emotion.
It is not the manufacture of iPhones that helps terrorists, it is the refusal to comply with a court order to assist the FBI in retrieving information from the device.
Your analogy is nonsense.
The government bringing in millions of persons who hate American freedoms is also the government demanding access to everyone’s personal data. F that.
The Constitution helps terrorists but we still need it. You are of the opinion that we don’’t need Apple and their strong data protection. That is false in the long run. Someone else will do it, it is inevitable. It won’t be bypassed by a new OS load. The new OS load will require a passcode, end of story. It is false in the short run too. You are ignoring that a stolen iPhone can’t be cracked by hostile governments.
This Court Order is unprecedented. It is treading new legal ground. There is no law allowing the Judge to go where she is going with this order to demand that Apple create a specific product only for the government's benefit that actually will damage Apple and Apple's large user base. That is NOVEL and has no basis in history or legal precedence.
Apple has complied with legal search warrants in the past where they've had the power to do so and the data they authorities were seeking. Never before has the government required someone to CREATE what they need to get what they are seeking.