Family means everything to Gabriel.

Only God ranks higher for this devout Catholic, husband and father of three. Everything else is a distant third on his priority list, even the American dream he began chasing 11 years ago when he left his native Mexico. He rose to the position of foreman for a commercial construction company, paid taxes and bought a small home on Oklahoma City's south side.


Then that dream was dissolved by the enforcement of laws he knowingly broke as an undocumented immigrant in pursuit of a better life. Within a span of 20 months, Gabriel watched helplessly as federal authorities deported his oldest child, Gabriel Jr., then his wife, Maria. His youngest son — Mario, 18 — later chose to join them in Mexico.

Now, with his family divided by an international border, he will sacrifice his dream. He will voluntarily leave the United States with his 16-year-old daughter, Marisol, and return to his impoverished and increasingly violent homeland.

"We tried to do all the right things by working hard, paying taxes, buying a home,â€