One of the most heartbreaking moments I have had in my entire life was while listening to Miguel, an eight-year-old whose father is an undocumented Mexican stranded in Mexico. “I want my daddy back,” Miguel said while he sniffled in front of my desk. His mother, Irene, sat silently next to him, her eyes struck by the horrible realization that her husband would not be coming back to the United States for the next 10 years.

The price this U.S. family is paying for wanting to legalize the status of Jose, a 30-year-old man who is Irene’s husband and the father of three, ages two, five and eight, is too much to bear. The real victims are the members of this family, all U.S. citizens who will likely become dependent on the government because Irene can’t make ends meet with her salary as a receptionist. Besides pushing her household under the poverty line, with just one parent, the kids aren’t properly disciplined or supervised. A potentially successful story has turned into a nightmare. Read more …