A woman migrant with a criminal conviction for an incident of domestic violence in the US, where she had a work permit, tried to fight deportation, learning the hard way that losing her case meant a 10 year penalty (vs. 5 years for a voluntary departure), which has kept her separated from her youngest daughter. She advises other migrants that life isn’t easy in the US and that if you end up in immigration court, the best option might be to accept a voluntary removal so that you can try to return sooner to your family.