Why do Americans tend to identify with and vote for a Party? When you ask this question, you get various responses: I’m a Republican and have always been a Republican; my family and friends are lifelong Democrats and so am I; I’m an anti-abortionist; I’m pro-life; I’m a free-market advocate; I’m for fair practices in business and a reasonably regulated economy; I believe in states’ rights and a limited Federal government mainly focused on the security of our nation; I believe the Federal government must also secure the rights of all its citizens; I believe in family values without government interference; I believe in supporting families through government action; and so on. Most of us would readily recognize these conflicting answers and could add many more areas of disagreement and even conflict.

At this moment in American history, Congress is at loggerheads. At the heart of this disagreement is whether our current immigration system is fair, or not? In general, should it allow an undocumented person to live in this country and apply for full citizenship? But the immediate point of contention concerns whether children brought into this country by undocumented parents are liable for the actions of their parents. They are demonstrably in violation of the law and subject for deportation. But is the law fair and reflective of our core values? In other words, do they have a right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? More to the point, do they have a right to become naturalized citizens?

Before 1776, there was no such thing as an American citizen. But the Declaration of Independence stated that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights . . .” And those words gave birth to America and its key founding values—equality of all its inhabitants and their possession of God given rights. “Equality” defines the nature of our society—communities, towns, cities, states, and nation. And those “unalienable rights,” as further elaborated in our Constitution, define the integrity of the individual citizen in our society.

Throughout our history, Americans have faced the same problem we are now experiencing in Congress’ inability to resolve the DACA crisis (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). That problem concerns how we maintain an egalitarian society where the rights of all individuals are preserved. The concept of “equality” presumes a diverse society where “all men are created equal.” But our founding fathers excluded slaves from humanity and women from citizenship. While America has reversed these exclusions, we continue to suffer the same myopic view of American society with each wave of immigrants, whether Chinese, European, African, Middle Eastern, or South/Central American. In fact, we are wary of admitting immigrants of non-Christian faiths and non-Caucasian genealogy. Even the Muslims or Sikhs and the black and brown citizens in our midst are often considered outsiders that should be shunned, feared, discredited or segregated. If we can question individuals’ equality in our society, then we have no obligation to grant them any rights—and certainly no path to citizenship. If so, how do we reconcile ourselves with our founding principles?

Many of our Presidents—excluding the current one—encouraged us to form a more perfect union, as stipulated in the Preamble of our Constitution. Recall the Pledge of Allegiance, “one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.” American history is a record of our struggle to unite all our people under the same banner and oath. For us to reconcile the principle of individual rights to the ideal of an egalitarian society, it is imperative that we learn to abide our differences and to govern solely for the benefit of all—equally. In 1818, the American population of 9.5 million included 1.5 million slaves. Today, a population of about 320 million includes between 690 and 800 thousand DACA non-citizens who are subject to deportation. Why would we exclude from citizenship people who have lived their entire lives as Americans? It does not require a civil war or even a massive program of assimilation to treat them as equals and grant them their full rights as citizens. In effect, they are already Americans. Why would we ostracize them from the society of which they are already members?

Frankly, I find no satisfying answers to these questions. There is no issue of introducing crime or living off the public largess. The only obstacle to admitting these DACA enlistees appears to be their availability as leverage for the President’s border wall and the Republicans’ desire to reduce legal immigration. The President feels strongly that he cannot reverse his campaign promise about a border wall. And his Party has been ideologically opposed to any measure that would result in more immigrants entering America—even when past Republican Presidents have proposed work permits and a path to citizenship (Reagan and Bush 43, respectively). Perhaps a more recent President put it more succinctly, “I don’t think that Americans want hubris from their next President . . . a strong mandate for change . . . means a government that is not ideologically driven. It means a government that is competent . . . that is focused day in, day out on the needs and struggles, the hopes and dreams of Americans . . .” (Obama, January 6, 2009).

It has been said that we are a nation of immigrants. True, but that is not the whole story. We are a nation united by principles and the rule of law that supports those principles. Although Congress’ inability to pass a budget is critical to maintaining the viability of government services and its overall financial status, its inability to serve the founding principles of our nation risks the loss of our democratic underpinnings. America is an idea that must be constantly renewed. If we lose our dedication to the very core principles of our founding, our inability to pass a budget is not the most significant problem we face. We are.

The current stalemate in Congress is more than a budget impasse. It is less about how we default on balancing America’s general ledger. It is about how we shutdown America—what it represents to us and to the world.