New DREAMers Divide the Dems | End of the T+2

This immigration issue is dividing presidential contenders on the left.

Sid has lived nearly his entire life in the United States and is headed to both the national world history and world geography bees this year. The 12-year-old from Massachusetts wants to become a scientist and use his research to help America live up to its reputation as a land of ideas and innovation. The only problem? He isn’t a U.S. citizen: Sid’s parents moved to the U.S. with him when he was 1, and when he turns 21, he doesn’t know whether he will even be allowed to stay in the country.

For the Democratic caucus, his sounds like the quintessential story of the DREAMers, the undocumented, mostly Hispanic youths who grew up in America but face unique challenges around citizenship and education. But Sid is Indian, the son of Durga Nirgudkar, a health care worker, and Shailesh Nirgudkar, an information technology professional. He is part of a different set of DREAMers — young people who came here legally (mostly from India, but also some from China) yet are on decades-long wait lists for green cards due to visa caps on the countries of their birth. And that difference is splitting Democratic leaders — including the sprawling field of 2020 presidential contenders — on what to do with them.

A 10-year jail term for a 65-year-old isn’t the same as it is for a 20-year-old. Likewise, the same dollar amounts spell very different consequences for different people.

Katharina G. Andresen, 22, was booked for drunk driving in 2017. Her fine: $30,400. Though still a student, she was estimated to be Norway’s richest woman due to wealth from her father’s company. And in Norway — along with Finland, Switzerland and, to a certain extent, the U.K. — traffic fines are based on a percentage of the offender’s income, not on a flat fee. Which is exactly how it should work.

Shannon McLaughlin’s baby carriers were copied by South African behemoth Woolworths, and she fought back.

Just before close of business on Jan. 7, Shannon McLaughlin, founder and owner of Ubuntu Baba (total staff: 12), posted a 2,000-word blog explaining how she felt South African retail giant Woolworths (2018 revenue: $5.5 billion) had copied the name, color scheme and design of her company’s signature baby carriers, and was selling them at a third of the price (Ubunta Baba carriers are handmade from organic hemp in South Africa versus the copycat carriers mass produced in China and made out of polyester). While the social-media-savvy McLaughlin “knew” the post would go viral, she was not expecting the media storm.