Plop me in the middle of any of the county’s college campuses anytime classes are in session and I could not tell you who is a beneficiary of the Deferrred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.
I could visit an auto mechanic, a tailor, a restaurant, a bar, a grocery store, a nursing home, a legal clinic, a coffee shop or myriad other places and I could not state which of the employees or patrons has a legal right to reside in this country.
Show me a picture of your best friend or spouse — a stocky light-skinned male with a buzz cut and innocuous tattoos covering their arms — and I could not with absolute certainty tell you whether that loved one was from London, Mexico City, Lakeside or National City.
Nor could I tell you for sure if he is a white supremacist, immigrants rights activist or blissfully apolitical man harmlessly carrying on with his life.
I could make uninformed, snap judgments about all of these people and in some cases I might guess correctly. But in all likelihood I would be wrong more often than I would be right.
When was the last time you ordered a tall mocha from a barista but asked that before pouring your drink they provide proof of citizenship?
The last time you needed help finding a lost pet, jump-starting a vehicle, cleaning up a neighborhood or soliciting donations for a favorite charity did you first ask donors about their residency status? Probably not. And if you did, what’s your problem?
Day in, day out, week after week, year after year most of us carry on with our lives not giving a thought to a stranger’s or even a passing acquaintence’s right to live in our neighborhood. We are, for better or worse, insulated and preoccupied with the mundane events that affect us directly — work, putting food on the table and making the most of what we have.
We tend to judge people on their actions and character. Not on the documents that state if they are legal residents of this country.
But it seems that during the first eight months of the year issues that might not typically be a priority concern — religious beliefs and legal resident status — have shoved their way to the front of the line.
In the beginning of the year there was a federal attempt to ban Muslims from entering this country and, in the process, marginalize anyone who practiced Islam or who sympathized with those of a different faith.
Earlier this week another action at the federal level has forced the conversation to focus on what has otherwise been a non-issue for many.
The move to end DACA, the policy that allows people who were brought to this country as undocumented children and eventually work and reside here as adults without fear of deportation, has created tension where there wasn’t any.
The policy may not have been perfect but it was a good one that did not threaten the harmonious fabric of neighborhoods. It’s imminent demise is unfortunate and unacceptable.
