I disagree, people escaping religious and political persecution should have priority for entrance.
That's not my highest priority, but I do support giving that consideration greater weight than many other factors, such as geographical proximity to the US. However, the relative weights of the various factors to be considered is a negotiable point. What's not negotiable is a de facto formula that results in half of all immigrants coming from a small list of neighboring countries, most of whom need substantial social services and are not objects of persecution in their home countries.