‘The real issue is compassion’

First, let’s make clear what the issue actually is and is not.

The issue on the Obama program known as DACA is not deportation. That is a distraction from the real issue. Almost no one advocates deporting people who have roots here now and are contributing members of society. And every time we debate this political non-starter, we distract from the real reason that passions run so high on this issue.

The real issue is compassion. See, millions of Americans believe their government no longer represents their interests. They’re happy to see people escape poverty, come here and get educated and employed like their ancestors did. However, at the same time they’ve seen lots of their jobs shipped overseas and their wages stagnant for more than 20 years.

What they want to know is, where is the compassion for them?

A recent survey found that the average employed DACA recipient makes about $36,000 a year. Yet recent data from the Social Security Administration found that 51% of working Americans make less than that. Where is the compassion for them?

How many of you reading this would like to be making $36,000 a year, or have your kids in a university receiving a quality education? You pay taxes. You obey the law. You’re financing all this “compassion.” So where is the compassion for you?

Your health care costs are climbing. You can’t afford college for your kids. You’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. Maybe you work in an industry known for hiring illegals, so you’re in constant threat of your job disappearing.

Wouldn’t you like some of that compassion for a change?

Not to mention, where’s the compassion for the millions waiting in line to come here legally, doing things the right way?

President Trump claimed to understand these concerns on the campaign trail, earning the votes of millions of working Americans to shock the pundits and win the election. But now it appears that his compassion for working families was “fake news.”

Steve Deace is a nationally syndicated host with CRTV and a columnist for Conservative Review.