Born in the USA, don't take our parents away

“But something needs to happen now,” said Andrade. “We can’t wait. I’ve already endured almost three years of separation and struggle.”

Andrade visits his family once a year and talks on the phone with them almost daily about how he is fighting for their rights and their speedy return. He and over 150 other activists rallied on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, hoping to put pressure on Congress to protect the rights of U.S.-citizen children and their hard-working, taxpaying families.

“Immigrant rights are important because it’s the children, like mine, who have rights to live in their country with their parents,” added Andrade.

Bertha Rangel, 26, met her husband Juan, a construction worker, 8 years ago. They have been married for six of those years and have three children ages 4, 3 and 1, all U.S. citizens. They lived happily in the U.S. for five years before Rangel’s husband was nabbed by immigration officials and deported to Mexico in 2005. Rangel and her three children traveled from Chicago to Washington to fight for the reunification of their family.