1. So what if the neighbors are “nice”? Is the standard being proposed here that law-breaking is only to be punished if the criminals aren’t nice enough?

2. They aren’t all that nice: they are degrading the quality of life for their neighbors as well as violating a municipal law. Six months of running an auto repair business illicitly with as many as 15 vehicles lined up isn’t a short term, temporary solution for a crisis. The “nice” neighbors should have a) asked permission from the neighborhood to do this at all, b) committed to a reasonable time frame to the rest of the street’s residence and c) been warned, nicely, of course, that time and patience was running out.

3. If they are legally in the U.S., they have nothing to fear from I.C.E. If they are not, then their neighbors are engaging in unethical conduct by trying to let them continue their illegal conduct and residence.

4. I.C.E. only has an “unpleasant” presence in cities that are actively interfering with U.S. immigration enforcement.

Ah, but Prof. Appiah, allegedly “The Ethicist,” runneth over with sympathy for these potentially illegal immigrants, and urges the good, empathetic, sucker of a neighbor to “look out for the family” by “telling them that what they’re doing could invite scrutiny, so that they have a chance to head this off.”

“A neighborly move might be to approach the family with someone from another household on the block,” The Ethicist opines. “The aim would be to make sure they grasp that the situation leaves them vulnerable to complaints and to consequences they may not anticipate. Let them know that you and others appreciate their presence — but not all those vehicles under repair.”

Those neighbors’ presence should only be appreciated if they are here legally and not breaking local ordinances while turn the street into their own workshop.