Six or seven years ago a quiet young woman in one of my college writing classes finally one day spoke up to express sympathy for illegal aliens. When someone asked her why she was interested in them, she said, “Well, I am one.”
Her parents brought her across the border from Mexico when she was a young girl. She quickly learned English, and she helped her parents and siblings learn it, as well. She thrived in public school, made friends, joined clubs and played soccer for her high school. After graduation, she took a job working the night desk at a hotel and enrolled in college.
For most of her life she has lived and felt like an American. In some respects, she’s a more conscientious citizen than many of us. She always drives very carefully, for example. A minor traffic stop could lead to a life-destroying deportation