There are many ways to view the Carrizalez family’s story.

Some will see it as a straightforward immigration case. Others will see it as a complicated legal matter involving federal enforcement, court decisions and unfortunate consequences.

We see a 7-year-old child who is an American citizen preparing to leave her home, her school, her friends and her community because the adults responsible for our immigration system could not find a better solution. That child is Dani Carrizalez.

Dani’s family plans to leave for Mexico this weekend after her father, Ignacio Carrizalez, was ordered to depart the United States.

The family’s future remains uncertain. What is certain is that a child who calls Butler home is saying goodbye to the only life she knows. That reality deserves attention because immigration debates often focus on politics while overlooking the people affected by the outcomes.

Dani is a U.S. citizen. So is her mother, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez.

Yet, Dani has little choice but to go with her parents. The family faced a difficult decision: leave together or be separated.

This is where the conversation should begin. Not with political slogans. Not with campaign talking points.

With a child.

The facts of the case highlight the flaws in the outcome.

Our earlier reporting found Ignacio Carrizalez was not hiding from immigration authorities. He had filed paperwork, received approvals from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and had a permanent residency hearing scheduled for June 1. He never made it to that hearing because he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April.

Readers can reasonably disagree about immigration policy, border security and enforcement priorities. What should concern everyone is whether a system is fair when someone pursuing legal status is removed before that process plays out because they are prevented from completing it.

For years, Americans have heard a familiar phrase directed at immigrants: “Do it the right way.”

The Carrizalez case raises an uncomfortable question. What happens when someone attempts to do exactly that and still faces removal?

That does not excuse violations of immigration law. It does make it reasonable to ask whether enforcement actions should account for where individuals stand in the legal process and what impact those actions will have on their families.

In Butler, those consequences have a face. They belong to a little girl who expected to see her friends again after the weekend. Instead, she is preparing to move nearly 2,000 miles away.

The uncertainty extends beyond leaving Pennsylvania. The U.S. Department of State currently advises Americans not to travel to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas because of crime and kidnapping concerns. Ignacio Carrizalez has publicly expressed fears about returning to a region he left years ago in search of a safer future.

Whether those fears materialize is impossible to know. What we do know is Dani is losing the safety she enjoys.

Immigration policy is complicated. Border security matters. Laws matter. But any immigration system worthy of public trust should also recognize that its decisions affect real families.

When a 7-year-old child is forced to leave her hometown because her family sees no viable alternative, something is wrong.

Americans can disagree about how the system should be fixed. They should not have difficulty agreeing that children should not bear the consequences of its failures.

Dani Carrizalez did nothing wrong; but she is paying the price.

— SB