The author shares personal reflections on growing up as a child of an undocumented immigrant in California. With a father who lived his life without legal status, the author experienced both hope for a better future and the constant anxiety of potential deportation. Despite understanding the immigration system as a legal professional, the father's lack of options created a stark contrast between their experiences. The narrative illustrates the emotional weight of impossible choices families must make amid changing immigration policies, highlighting the bittersweet nature of familial connections in such circumstances.
Even though, as an adult and a legal professional, I became familiar with immigration laws and had access to legal networks and resources, my father didn't have the same options.
I often think about how we might have missed out on those memories if he had chosen to follow the law keeping him out of the U.S. The joy of being together outweighed the legal and emotional complications.
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