“They broke the law.” This preceding statement is how we excuse a grand amount of injustice in this country. Recently, it’s been widely used as a mantra for people who support deportation of undocumented immigrants and need a good excuse for dragging people from their homes and splitting up families. “If you enter this country as a criminal” so goes the logic, “what right do you have to be here? America doesn’t need anymore criminals!” Those who argue this way often present themselves as being patriots and defenders of American values and tradition. I say their patriotism is a false...

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