Barack Obama is still around, and active, as is Michelle Obama. Feel free to speculate on whether either of them are currently bringing the country closer together or further apart.
I'm the grandson of immigrants who came here legally, twice. They came from England, and then moved back to assist ailing family. After being back in England a while they realized they made a mistake and reapplied to come back. They'd been gone over a year and, as my granddad said, "it was like we'd never been to America and had to start totally from scratch." The law worked, even if it was difficult and complicated.
I'm also the husband of a first generation American citizen, born in Texas, whose entire family (brother, sister, and parents) initially came here illegally. With the exception of the dad, who was deported for various crimes (for which he was tried, found guilty, etc.) they rest are all now citizens and productive members of society. The citizenship path took a long time, and they were green card holders for a long time before finally gaining citizenship.
Once, under a prior administration, my brother in law (then in a 20 year career with UPS, via which he was regularly sent to Central and South America for work), was detained returning from a work trip because he failed to disclose that he'd been arrested at 18 (super minor, it'd been 20 years, and he simply spaced when completing the form). He then sat in holding for weeks, had to utilize an attorney (multiple actually, as one was total scumbag and liar), and listened to the Hispanic guards tell him regularly that he was scum and was going to get deported before he was finally released. The law worked, even if it was painful.
Immigration isn't simple and it isn't free. It isn't supposed to be either of those things. If we had simply been enforcing our current laws over the last decades we wouldn't be in this ugly situation.
