Act 4 of this episode of 'This American Life' describes the way that US immigration policy has separated families by parental deportation, with a particular focus on parents originally from Latin America. Many parents who are deported, says the host, must leave their children - who are US citizens - behind in the US and take up residence just on the other side of the US border in Mexico in the hopes that this will enable them to see their children more easily. This radio segment describes a community in Mexico, called Nogales, with a growing population of deported parents who choose to stay there for its proximity to their children, even though their home communities may be far away. "We hear about kids who get left behind in the States, but in Nogales, it's the parents who are orphaned."
The segment also tells the stories of families separated by deportation, and one mother in particular who was arrested and incarcerated in the United States, then deported to Mexico. The mother, Gloria, lived in Arizona with her four children until she was arrested for being an accomplice to her employer's "drop houses" - places where undocumented immigrants spend the night after crossing the border. Gloria spent two years in prison in the US and her children were split up and placed in foster care where they rarely had the opportunity to talk to each other, or to their mother. After she was released, Gloria was deported and moved to Nogales, Mexico along the border to be as close as possible to her children (about three hours away). She fought Arizona family courts to regain custody of her children but only her youngest was able to rejoin her for a while. The segment includes interviews with Gloria and her children who describe the pain of separation.