Kimmel tried to refocus the discussion: “Who still thinks Esmeralda should be deported?” Lorie, Wes Parker, and I raised our hands. Wes said that the baby could not be deported, but the mother should be. Celeste established that it’s a legal matter. Hoping to ratchet up the pressure, Kimmel brought in Esmeralda’s fiancé Michael, an American citizen working in the Kansas correctional system and serving in the army.

Immediately, all of us declared that Michael should marry Esmeralda. That would settle her legal status. They already had a kid together, so what was holding them back? Celeste even offered to host a fundraiser for their wedding. Because my father is ordained to officiate weddings, I offered to call him, but Kimmel refused: “Don’t call your Dad.”

I pointed out that there are ways to settle Esmeralda’s unlawful status. My friend Fernando had entered illegally, then married an American citizen. I then reasserted to Michael and Esmeralda that we are a nation of laws, and that I have not been afraid to tell illegals that they must establish legal status. “I find it hard to believe that you have friends,” Kimmel retorted. Everyone else gasped at his insolent behavior. Kimmel was trying to rile me and others up, but failed each time. I prepared to call Fernando, but Kimmel wouldn’t let me, because I would have proven how wrong he was … again.