Despite Congressional smiles when cameras are turned on, a meeting of political minds on the contours of immigration reform may not take place anytime soon.

In the meantime, most elected officials agree on at least one issue. Immigrants who seek lawful status must “get in the back of the line”.

Unfortunately, colorful political rhetoric often does not reflect legal realities.

And it’s not a solution.

It’s an awful choice.

Facing deportation, many immigrants have only one defense against removal from the U.S.

Cancellation of removal.

With an emphasis on the hardship family members will suffer if the immigrant is deported, it requires immigrants with young children to make a painful decision at the outset of their cases.

Two options exist.

Take their children to a country foreign to them.

Leave them with relatives or friends in the U.S.

I enjoy cutting-edge cases.

As a San Diego immigration attorney, I’ve learned a lawyer has to be willing to go out on the edge.  Where no lawyer has walked before.

Often the only possibility for victory in immigration cases requires going into uncharted waters.

It means bucking the system.  It means challenging legal rules and regulations in a way that opens new paths for those who follow.

That’s the legal and political challenge for same-sex marriages.