It is not a matter of punishment. It is the law of the land. If you are here illegally, you are subject to deportation. We deport families all of the time. And you keep on spouting the line about no control being brought here when the fact is that many came unaccompanied as teenagers. Should they be treated differently?
When do we put an end to legalizing the children of illegal aliens who were brought here at a young age? Is this going to be the metric going forward? Just get here and we will legalize your children? Why not deport the parents and the children?
Each case should be viewed individually to see if the individual living here is not engaged in any criminal activity.
How do you define criminal activity? Just being in the country is illegal. Working is illegal. Lying on employment forms (I-9) is illegal.
Each DACA applicant was treated individually. The approval rate was 99.4% and the screening amounted to a rubber stamp. And there are close to 3 million more who could qualify for DACA and didn't apply. Would you also give them an opportunity to stay?
There are at any one time 4 million intending immigrants waiting their turn overseas, including children. They have gone thru the legal process undergoing background checks, physicals, etc. Many are waiting years to enter. Where is the fairness when it comes to illegal aliens who go to the head of the line? Why should their children be given preferred status over those who are doing it legally? What message does it send?
If they came here on their own as teenager's they did break the law.
But if they were brought here as children, they didn't.
If they were brought here as children and were raised here, they did nothing illegal.
Your view is simply a knee jerk reaction to a complex problem.