The End Justifies the Means

The ends justify the means. It’s an idiom we’ve all heard in one form or another. A common phrase utilized when trying to rationalize dubious actions that support a larger, more moral mission, and it’s a phrase that has lingered with me since last week, when President Trump announced his plan to rescind DACA, which was put into place by his predecessor, President Obama, citing executive “overreach” as the main motivation in doing so.

As someone who has dedicated their life to electing liberty-minded candidates into office, I am a staunch believer in checks and balances, particularly the check Congress has on the Executive Branch. And if this were a simple case of executive overreach, I would be writing an entirely different post right now; but this particular issue isn’t simple, it isn’t black and white, and treating it as such is not only an insult to the lives affected, but it’s an insult to the United States itself, and flies directly into the face of everything the framers hoped our country would stand for.

The now young adults who we’ve come to call “Dreamers” are as American as I am, and have lived the same American experience as us all. They are one of us, the only difference? We got to go to bed every night with the assurance that we wouldn’t wake up separated from our family, in a different country, and away from everything we’ve ever known, all because they didn’t have the proper paperwork, stating that they were “American.” We’ve come a long way from “Give me your tired, your poor...” haven’t we?

The principal responsibility of the President of the United States is to protect every American, it’s what allows presidents expanded powers during times of war, and there are countless examples of our president using questionable methods in the pursuit of safety for the American people. That is what President Obama did when he signed DACA; he was protecting young people who for all intents and purpose are American, and who deserve to be here just as much as I do.  Executive overreach? Maybe, but drastic times, call for drastic measures.