Watch part two

Filmmaker: John Goheen

Keeping house and home together can be hard enough even under the best of circumstances. But when you're only 18, and have two younger siblings to look after, it is very tough indeed.

Lesley Munoz does just that in a small American town on the Mexican border – but this is all in the knowledge that her parents are alive and well, but forced to live in Mexico, on the other side of that border.

The USA has been stepping up its deportation of illegal immigrants, showing little sympathy for families that are split apart by this policy.

Family Torn Apart tells the story of a Mexican-American family who have been separated by a court judgment in pursuit of US immigration policy.

The Munoz parents came to the USA many years ago on a temporary residence permit to get hospital treatment for their first child who was suffering from a terminal illness. After his death they stayed, fearing similar problems with the two children who then came along.

But now the authorities have caught up with the Munoz family and the parents have been sent back to Tijuana, just across the border. 18 year old Lesley and her younger brother and sister were born in America, and so are US citizens. They cannot be deported. 

Filmmaker John Goheen brings us Lesley's story in her own heartfelt words. It takes us right into the lives of this close family who are struggling to stay together across two countries.

This episode of Witness aired from Thursday, February 12, 2009.