The television therapy star visited the Southern border in Texas on Friday to film upcoming episodes of "Dr. Phil Primetime" -- a new primetime show he announced a few months ago which will reportedly follow a similar format as his OG "Dr. Phil."

DPM walked the fence down in Eagle Pass, TX and filmed several interviews with border agents while also stopping to take some pics with border patrol officers ... all while railing against the current administration's immigration policy.

McGraw's specifically calling out Vice President Kamala Harris ... pointing out she's America's immigration czar -- but claiming she's only actually visited the border with Mexico one time since she ascended to the VP job.

What's interesting here ... Dr. Phil isn't taking the "all or nothing" stance many conservative politicians and commentators have staked their reputations on ... instead, he said he's actually in favor of immigration and knows immigrants drive the U.S. economy forward.

But, McGraw explained, that doesn't mean there isn't a problem at the border ... saying we need to "teach people how to treat us" instead of showing undocumented migrants that "they do not need to follow the rules at our border" -- adding it's a slippery slope from ignoring immigration laws to migrants breaking laws once they're in the country.

As for those people against "America First" policies ... McGraw said they need to remember putting themselves -- or in this case, your country -- first isn't the same as being selfish.

FWIW ... the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported a nearly 40% increase in border encounters from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023 -- and that appears to be growing in subsequent months with encounters over the last 3 months of 2023 topping date from the same months in previous years.