Taxation doesn't impact people equally. Nor do problems associated with illegal immigration (e.g. overcrowding, gangs, foreign nationalism, policing, homelessness, burdens on social services, etc.).
It's easy to imagine, therefore, that the passionate advocate for illegal immigrants can afford his compassion because his tax burden is light and his personal exposure to the problems is minimal. Having him come on and demonstrate that, no, he is willing to put in the hours, he does put himself face-to-face with the grime and the poverty, he has personally contended with the hazards of dealing with the indigent, and his sacrifice is not small, goes a long way to proving to others that his compassion is deep and self-sacrificing, not merely the self-righteousness afforded to him by ignorance and convenience.
