In continuation with my previous post on family unity as a human right, I found an interesting publication by the Human Rights Watch titled Forced Apart: Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by United States Deportation Policy.

In the publication, I found under VI. US Deportation Policy Violates Human Rights, an interesting table that lists what is taken in consideration during deportation from sixty-one different countries. Countries such as Ireland, Denmark, France, Germany, and Switzerland by law must weigh family ties and ties to the country prior to deportation. These laws only make sense because you cannot have a one-size fits all when you are dealing with people's livelihoods.

There was also one part where an immigrant who had been deported in 2004 from the United States away from this family spoke about the loss of his family. Hector J. told Human Rights watch,

"You know, being with your family, there is nothing that you can compare to anything in life. It's just that warmness of the home, time with your loved ones."

I think it is hard to put into words exactly the loss one would feel after being separated for years and years from other family members. Those above words, though simple and short, highlight this.

I know personally that many DREAMERS, especially those who have already graduated with a college degree, would leave the United States to find work and start a new life if it was not for the ten-year ban. This ban, which began after the 1996 Immigration laws were implemented, for many, would mean not seeing their father, mother, brothers, and sisters for at least ten years.