Yes, we are a land of laws, and we should be – but following the letter of an immigration law that deports a grandmother who is a 20-year resident of the nation, the wife of a US citizen, a caring mother and attentive grandmother, an upstanding “citizen” in every regard except the paperwork – slavishly following that law will not make us free.
What I hear in this is, “Once you no longer need our compassion, once you are self-sufficient and successful, once you look more like us, then we’ll recognize you.” This may be one way to look at success, but it doesn’t reflect compassion as I understand that heart-felt, gut-wrenching emotion.