Separated by law: Families torn apart by 1996 immigration measure

President Obama announced a plan for easier access to "hardship waivers", but they won't help many or quickly. We need immigration reform now.     - - Donna Poisl

By Susan Ferriss and Amy Isackson
The Center for Public Integrity, California Report

 In a nation built by immigrants, they thought they could pursue their American Dream - with loved ones at their side. Instead, they're living an American nightmare that's tearing families apart and forcing Americans into exile.

Chris Xitco, a native of Los Angeles, never imagined that after marrying his wife Delia in 2002 and trying to legalize her, she'd end up barred by U.S. officials for life, with no pardon even possible for 10 years. She now lives south of Tijuana, Mexico, alone with the couple's two small children.

T.J. Barbour, a native of San Diego, has been struggling every day to care for a 10-year-old son, since his wife Maythe was deported and then barred from the United States in 2011 for what could be 20 years.
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