Jan Levin, deputy political councilor with the United States mission to Geneva, went on to say, "The United States has one of the most generous migration programs in the world, including a clear path to citizenship."

That path to citizenship, unfortunately, is complex and expensive and unavailable to many immigrants. Men and women who aren't rich and have no family ties to the United States but who want simply to come and work jobs that American employers can't fill, often have no way to do so legally.

And considering those are the people who often end up in detention - along with asylum seekers, children, and women and sexual minorities who have been victims of violence - forgive us if the generosity of the U.S. immigration system is lost on us.