This heartbreaking story shows how difficult it is for illegal immigrants here. It is not so easy for them to "just go home" as many people want them to do. - - Donna Poisl
Illegal status creates fault lines
By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff
When school lets out for the summer, Eliane will take her only son to Logan International Airport and put him on an airplane to Brazil. She will miss his birthday party in July, his soccer games, and all of his summer vacation.
Eliane will stay behind because she is an illegal immigrant, unlike her 5-year-old American son and a sister who will escort him to South America. If she leaves the United States, she will not be allowed back in.
"I don't like it," she said, speaking on the condition that her last name not be used for fear of deportation. "When I have my papers, he won't ever go with anyone else."
For families such as Eliane's, made up of illegal and legal immigrants, life is a dizzying array of complications, disappointments, and fears. Having legal papers determines who can work, drive a car, and afford to go to college, but also who can rush out of the country to sit by a parent's deathbed, dance at a wedding, or visit grandparents.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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