Michael,  in the case you describe, you'd have been the victim of fraud.  Any sane law (not that there's tons of those) would allow for a judge to compensate for extenuating circumstances, like being a refugee, etc.  Deportation is hardly the only possible outcome.  If you were raised in the US thinking you were a citizen then turned out not to be due to fraud, the perpetrators of the fraud (depending on circumstances) are the only ones who should be deported.

It's certainly possible to come up with exotic scenarios (what if your parents were spies?) but any sanely crafted law should not punish the innocent.

In the exact scenario you mention, I'd think after finding out you'd been raised here, were not a minor and wished to stay, the next words out of the judge's mouth should be "raise your right hand."

Just for context, note these stats:  http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested- statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#Current and Historical and Historical

41 million immigrants in the US, 30 million of which are legal.  That's 30 million people who filled out the paperwork, got an entry visa, came here to go to school or do business and/or get on the path to citizenship (which is almost half).  That's awesome.  Pretty much the only thing propping up our population.  As "open door" policies go, perhaps the most generous on the planet.

The 11.4 million illegals, however may have had to come here at great risk of harm (running across deserts, hiding in shipping containers, etc.) to work uninsured jobs that are unregulated by OSHA, and are paid far below the minimum wage, much less a fair wage.

I think any sane migrant worker policy, would allow all of them to come here in safety, get paid a fair wage for jobs that obviously need doing, allow them to go home to their families secure in the knowledge that next season they can come back legally for more work without the risk of entering the criminal justice system or worse.

Any advocation of the current system is basically allowing the exploitation of these people in perpetuity.  Something has to change.

"Undocumented" sounds like someone left their wallet at home, not like they made a deliberate decision to violate our laws before they even entered the country.

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So do I. And it's illegal to break the law. Even accidentally. Which is why we have laws and courts, and shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water.

(Not directly related: so many movies give us heroes wrongly accused of a crime and embarking upon a crusade to clear themselves. Along the way they break and enter, steal cars, kidnap, even kill [but only bad people!]. I've wanted for years to see one of those movies end with Our Hero exonerated for A, then hauled off to jail for B, C, D....)