Anyone who thinks that reasonable legal means exist for workers to migrate from Mexico to the United States and that migrants should just "do it the right way" need to read the story of Kentucky native Heather Suarez.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week about Heather's struggle to keep her family together after her Mexican-born husband, Evaristo, found out he could not gain legal status in the United States for 10 years.

At first, Evaristo didn't want his wife to petition for his green card because he didn't want her family to think he was marrying her for immigration papers. But she insisted, saying that she wanted him to be able to earn better wages and more respect.

 

"I wanted it to be easier for him," she said. "I didn't want him to have to struggle and feel that he didn't have rights."

 

Once she learned they would have to travel to Ciudad Juarez for Evaristo's visa interview, she spent months planning and preparing. She consulted attorneys and researched what paperwork they would need. She packed a black rolling suitcase full of documents - wedding photos, rent receipts, tax returns and letters of support.

 

Heather thought they would have to prove only that their marriage was legitimate.

 

"We can pass that easy, flying colors," she said. "Apparently that was not the case."

 

When the couple arrived at the consulate on June 1, 2006, Heather was turned away at the door and told to wait across the street with their children. She got scared. She overheard other spouses talk about cases being denied.

When Evaristo finally emerged, he was in a daze.

 

"I didn't get it," he said, handing her a paper with two check marks showing that his visa had been denied. "Why?" she asked, stunned.

 

Because U.S. immigration records showed that he had illegally entered the country more than once, he was ineligible. He would have to wait 10 years before he could apply to reenter.

 

Back at the hotel, Heather collapsed on the floor in tears.

"They were taking my whole life, all my dreams, right there," she said. "All we wanted to do was to make it right and to come out of hiding... . It is like we are being punished for doing the right thing."

After moving back and forth between Mexico and Kentucky, Heather and her children have finally settled - for the time being - in Tijuana. Heather drives two hours to San Diego every day for work, while her husband works low-paying jobs in Mexico. Both seem to constantly worry about whether they are doing the right thing for their children.

The article describes Evaristo's emotions when he and his family were reunited in Tijuana:

Evaristo was thrilled to see his wife and children again, but he felt guilty. He fled Mexico when he was 16 to search for a better life. Now, his U.S.-born children would be living in poverty and attending Mexican schools.

 

"They are going to live the same life I lived," he said. "What opportunities are they going to have?"

By the end of the article, the frustration of the Suarez family's situation is pervasive. It seems they are left with only bad options: Heather raising her children as a single mother in the United States, while her husband struggles to survive in Mexico. Or the family staying together in Mexico and facing the fears and poverty Evaristo had long ago hoped to escape.

What is the "right way" to deal with the situation the Suarez family - and many others - now face? We must continue to fight for fair and humane immigration reform that would allow reasonable means for migrants to legally enter the United States, to work at jobs that need to be filled, and to reunite with their families.