Many of the immigrant families living in Miami and throughout the rest of the United States may have family members who are undocumented. Circumstances may eventually compel some of these undocumented family members to return to their countries of origin; others may be forced to leave through deportation. Reuniting these families again down the road may be difficult, as many of those members who leave are not allowed to return.
This current presidential administration has seen more undocumented immigrants deported than any other in American history. Many of those being deported or being denied re-entry have called the United States home for most of their lives. Some have children who themselves are American citizens. Yet these factors are often overlooked by immigration authorities, and should they not qualify to remain in the U.S. under any of the many specialty immigration programs, these undocumented immigrants can easily find themselves back in their former countries without a means to return to their families.
These family immigration issues have caught the attention of many national immigrant advocacy groups. Some have begun staging demonstrations and events to help shed light on the plight of these families. One such group is organizing an upcoming mass border crossing for over 125 families from Mexico. Most of those involved in the crossing once lived in the U.S. and are hoping to reunite with their loved ones currently here. Similar demonstrations arranged by this group resulted in participants being detained at the border, yet most were eventually given permission to remain while their cases were being considered.
Those hoping to petition for family visas for their loved ones know how much of a struggle this process can be. An immigration attorney may be a good source of assistance during this process.
Source: CNN “Border showdown: Families will demand U.S. entry to reunite with relatives” Michael Martinez and Jaqueline Hurtado, Mar. 09, 2014