Cipriano and Josefa moved to the United States in the early 1990s from Guerrero, Mexico, and settled in North Carolina. They got jobs on chicken farms, hoping to secure a chance at the American dream for their growing family.

For three of their children, who were born in the United States, it worked: As American citizens, they have been allowed to drive, attend college at in-state rates, work, and rent apartments legally. One of them served three years in the Marines. They vote in American elections.

But a fourth child, a daughter who was only a year old when the family moved illegally to the United States, had a different experience. Though she is the oldest of her siblings, she was the last to move out of her parents’ home. She waited longer to get a driver’s license and her own place to live. And despite her academic success, she attended community college because she could not afford to pay out-of-state fees at a four-year university.

“It was painful to see her suffer just because she wasn’t born here,” Cipriano, who agreed to be identified only by his first name because of his family’s immigration status, said of his oldest daughter. “Ever since she was a little girl, she was good. She got good grades, followed the rules, met her goals. She always tried to help people. It hurts your heart to see her frustrated.”