I want to tell a true story here about a "Dreamer" I know, a Friend of mine. He was born in El Salvador, amid a lethal civil war. He traveled to the United States legally when he was 8 years old, when his parents applied for political asylum. (His family had been on the side of the civil war that the U.S. had actively supported.) Shortly afterward the civil war in his home country was declared officially over, yet his family members judged it was not safe to return.

So his parents continued their effort to get permanent residency status. They paid large sums of money over the years to people posing as immigration lawyers, only to learn they had been defrauded and nothing was accomplished.

It was not until my student was in high school that he learned that he was undocumented. Fortunately for him, he was able to apply for President Obama's DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), attend college with private foundation support, and graduate. He is bright, energetic, and idealistic. He obeys the laws. He has a brother who is a U.S. citizen. He loves the United States and considers it "my country."

So tell me, what is the point of deporting him to a country he has not known since childhood? What crime has he committed? In my view, he is exactly the kind of person I want as a neighbor, co-worker, fellow citizen, and friend.

• news
• life
• politics
• economics
• daca