By framing support for undocumented immigrants in the language of virtue and achievement—“hardworking,” “family values,” “not criminals,” and “success stories”—I, and some parts of the immigrant rights movement, had tacitly condemned people like Aida who could not fit their lives into our narrow windows of approval. Emphasis on “model immigrants” and the “deserving poor” can help win important improvements for select groups, but it falls short for the vast majority of people—people with tougher, more complicated stories.
