The image drawn by those who wish to reduce the number of immigrants who come to the United States, and particularly those who wish to expel the millions who have come or remained here without permission, is that of a home which one or more people have illegally entered, sat down and expect to be fed.
Of course, in such a scenario, the owner of said house would be well within her legal and moral rights to toss the interlopers out. It would be very odd not to.
But if the allegedly unwelcome guests entered this imaginary house 50 years ago, raised a family, cleaned the bathroom, prepared the meals, mowed the lawn and had otherwise contributed to keeping home and hearth together all that time, and the owner was only now getting around to asking them to leave, the ethical and legal case for doing so would have practically evaporated.
