One Mexican-American Family, Three Legal Statuses

Among the millions of immigrant families living in the United States, many have mixed legal status.

One family member may be here illegally, another might have a temporary permit and another may be a U.S. citizen. This creates uncomfortable disparities within families.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Mónica Ortiz Uribe of Fronteras Desk – in collaboration with the online news organization New Mexico In Depth – has the story of one such family.

Cynthia Alba, 19, entered the country illegally when she was a toddler and now qualifies for President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Her mother remains undocumented and her sister is a U.S. citizen.

• Read more on Fronteras Desk

Reporter

• Mónica Ortiz Uribe, senior field correspondent for Fronteras Desk, a public radio collaboration in the Southwest that focuses on the border, immigration and changing demographics. She tweets @MOrtizUribe.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.