I immigrated to the United States when I was a baby. My parents were legal immigrants and, in an odd twist, I was conceived in the U.S. as well. My mother returned to her mother’s home in England to have me because my father was a Princeton University faculty member and I was due during finals week.
Like those enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, I didn’t make the decision to move or grow up in the U.S. Those decisions were made by my parents. Like DACA kids, I love America, the country where I grew up, made friends, went to school, and went to work. There is no difference between myself and a DACA kid, except some people want to penalize and deport DACA kids for decisions their parents made when they were kids.
The cornerstone of our legal system is legal jeopardy applies to the people who commit crimes, not bystanders. When someone drinks and drives, for example, our legal system doesn’t punish the passenger, just the drunk at the wheel. To demand innocents pay for the crimes of others is not just unfair, it is profoundly immoral.
I prefer living in a nation with compassion. I support DACA.
