OPPORTUNITIES . . .

Any one of us, knowledgeable on the topic or not, could go on and on in the debate about immigration and the rights of immigrants, illegal or not. Most of us, myself included, I confess, probably might waffle back and forth between two extreme opposing positions, hitting on any and every point in between. There are no clear-cut answers, as is the case with most things that arouse passion in people.

But then I read something like this: an article about an illegal immigrant who has been in this country since age 4 on a long-expired tourist visa. He grew up in shelters throughout New York City, received fortuitous help from some volunteers, went to a prestigious Manhattan secondary school on scholarship, and just graduated SECOND in his class from Princeton University. The guy won a two-year scholarship to Oxford University, but doesn't know if he can go because he might not be able to return to this country at the end of his Oxford program.

America is the land of opportunity. This young man grabbed that opportunity and ran with it, and he could be running for the rest of his life, doing amazing things for himself, his family, his community, his country, this country. Of all the illegal immigrants in this country we are so busy fighting about, how many more are like him? Countless, I bet. I bet the U.S. is chock-full of amazingly bright, talented, motivated and skilled illegal immigrants who lack nothing but the right paperwork and the rights that come with that paperwork. What disservice do we do to the fabric of this country if we tell them they can't stay here anymore? What bizarre standard do we set if we say the smart ones can stay, but everyone else has to leave? What chaos or benefit results if we just say, the heck with it, everyone stays?