It's called a passport

Via the Tennessean this morning:

"Despite what people think, there aren't always single documents that prove immigration status, and citizenship status is often very complex," said Joan Friedland, policy director for the National Immigration Law Center."

Give us all a break. The man in question is holding THE SINGLE DOCUMENT that does prove citizenship status.

The real question is why anyone who has already had a brush with the law regarding their citizenship status, and more importantly that of their child, waits over 10 years to get their status clarified. That's the question the Tennessean doesn't ask. Why did it take Son 10 years to get a passport? Why did they have to waste the resources of so many people (the Sheriff's department included) before they cleaned up this mess? Mom ignores a previous deportation order. Son drives without a license. Deputy sees the deportation order when Son is stopped for a minor automobile issue. Son identifies himself as foreign born.

This family made a lot of mistakes that got them in this situation. This family needed to clear up their status long ago. They needed to recognize that even if they are citizens and it's not right that they have to walk around with citizenship documents the fact is the only way to make sure that they're not inadvertently caught up as a result of the illegal activity of others is to obtain and carry their passports.

Do not make the Sheriff's department the bad guy in this situation when personal responsibility could have avoided a lot of trouble in this family's life. 287G isn't the problem here.