A longer version of this article first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on July 12, 2018, entitled: Despite what you might think, there is no ‘good-guy’ visa.

Meet Antonio, a loving husband and father of three. A skilled furniture-maker and the sole provider for his family. In his 19 years in California, he’s put down roots, worked hard, and paid his taxes like any U.S. resident. But Antonio is undocumented.

Antonio (who doesn’t want to use his last name) came here to raise a family without fear of extortion or violence in his home town near Coyoacán, Mexico. He says it’s worse there now, rife with gangs, corruption and crime. No one is safe, he says; people feel threatened — even by the authorities.

But now Antonio lives in fear here in the U.S. One night in 2013, driving home late from work, Antonio was charged with reckless driving. It was his first and only offense. It was a minor infraction but has changed his life.

The U.S. government has been trying to deport him ever since. He just lost his asylum case before an immigration judge in San Francisco. He’s appealing the ruling, but his chances are slim to none.

Much has been reported about the trauma of separating families trying to cross the border into the United States. What’s not so evident — but even more insidious — are stories like Antonio’s. A decent man of good moral character, a devoted father and husband, a valued member of the community suddenly uprooted after nearly two decades here.

To what end? For what purpose?

People have the misconception that there’s a “good-guy visa,” an Oakland immigration lawyer told me. To the contrary, there’s been a trajectory of hardship in immigration law.

There were far fewer restrictions in times past. In the 1800s, most European immigrants could literally walk off the boat and settle here. In the wake of World War l, the United States started to create immigration quotas and require registration papers.

In the past century, restrictions have become more severe — with strict enforcement. In 1965, new quotas were established for people from Mexico and Central America, among others. But it didn’t stop the migration.

The cruelty of forcing people to live in the shadows was not lost on President Ronald Reagan. In 1986, he signed into law legislation that strengthened border security but also granted amnesty to nearly 3 million immigrants. It was a humane provision, but short-lived.

Just 10 years later, in 1996, a Republican-controlled Congress passed a draconian bill signed by President Bill Clinton. That Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act expanded grounds for deportation and exclusion. It tightened the law and made it nearly impossible to obtain legal status. Millions of unauthorized immigrants like Antonio now face random deportations with no foreseeable path to citizenship.

Antonio faces a Faustian choice: leave his wife and children behind, or move them to Mexico and try to rebuild a life?

“The situation is bad,” Antonio said. “If I go back and open a small business there, it won’t grow because of extortion. I’ll have to pay criminals to do business and be forced to close,” he said.

Antonio is distraught. He blames himself for the mistakes he made and in a letter to the court begged for forgiveness. He never meant to harm his children, he said.

His plea was denied.

If the law is not changed and fast, millions more families in communities across the country will be devastated by forced separations.

Immigration defines our nation. America’s founders and many of our forebears emigrated here in search of a better life. It’s a legacy we need to honor and hold dear. If we tear these families apart, we tear apart the soul of our country.