A lot of people haven’t actually learned how to be alone. Not in the healthy, grounded way where solitude is peaceful and nourishing but in the raw, confronting way where silence feels like rejection, and stillness feels like abandonment. So much of what people call “connection seeking” is really just survival. It’s the instinct to not be alone at all costs. To avoid that hollow feeling of being unwanted, unchosen, or unseen even if it means self sabotaging in the process.
Thirteen years ago, my administration acted to protect young people who were American in every single way but one: on paper.
DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. And it’s an example worth remembering today, when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities, are being demonized and treated as enemies.
We can fix our broken immigration system while still recognizing our common humanity and treating each other with dignity and respect. In fact, it’s the only way we ever will.