One of my great-grandfathers, James Patterson Martin, came with his family to America from Scotland at the age of 4.
At age 16, he enlisted in the Union army, survived the Civil War, settled down as a farmer, raised a family and died in 1949 at the age of 101 (overlapping me by four years.)
He was the last Civil War veteran in the state of Iowa, according to a newspaper report.
I do not know how, when, or whether he became a U.S. citizen, but we would call him a Dreamer today.
Like many immigrants, J.P. Martin dreamed of and realized a future of opportunity and freedom for his family.
His descendants are farmers, engineers, lawyers, loggers, doctors, teachers and business owners.
As one of these proud descendants, I, too, am therefore a Dreamer.
So if we must deport Dreamers to their countries of origin, send me back to Scotland instead of one of our more recent Dreamers.
Bob Martin,
Sequim