Keith R. Smith: Congress needs to legislate a DACA solution

There are many opinions on DACA these days – some good, some bad – but few that I have read really strike at the core issue: Who really is to blame for the situation that DACA attempts to rectify?
Certainly the parents of the children whom we now label with the “DACA” tag are primarily to blame for making their children accessories to the act of illegally entering the United States.
The Congress of the United States is a co-conspirator for leaving the doors of our country open, fully aware that in so doing unwanted immigrants would enter. I will not go into the motives that many have given rise to that situation.
For many, the United States is the “promised land,” so who can really blame the parents for wanting to sneak in and bring their kids along? Given the same set of circumstances, I hope that I would have had the courage and determination to do the same thing for my kids!
They say, “Look at these dumb Gringos! They leave the doors open for us and give us jobs and if we or our kids get sick, or we get hungry, they send us to the doctor and give us food! They must want us to come because they don’t close the doors!” Don’t you think that really describes the situation?
That said, we must take responsibility for the fix these young immigrants now find themselves in. If they have grown up knowing only the United States as their country and have demonstrated that they can be good citizens, they should show it and ask that they be permitted to stay.
Note that I say “ask” and not “demand.” They have a right to peacefully protest what they currently fear is an attempt to railroad them back to a “home” country which they do not know and have reason to fear won’t be welcoming or provide an environment where they can establish themselves in a manner that they could find here in the U.S.A.
And they are correct in this assumption. Congress made this mess and it must correct it in a fair and just manner. I think if it does, the president will agree.
Should they be granted U.S. citizenship? I think so, but in so doing, Congress should definitely change the rules concerning “chain immigration.” They should not be able to sponsor any other members of their families for immigration. To do so would be to reward the parents for illegally bringing their children to our country.
“Chain immigration” should be dropped from the books altogether. It is not a productive part of immigration anymore. At one time it may have made sense, but not in the 21st century.
President Trump was correct to handle this issue as he has. It is not fair to these kids that they are a political football, but they and others in this country had better understand that that is the way politics work and get used to it.
Congress needs to have a handle to get some legislation accomplished, and in this case the DACA children are that handle to finally get Congress to do its work.
Welcome to the USA, DACA kids.
Keith R. Smith, Jr. is a Canyon Country resident.