On Aug. 10, a traveling judge will take the bench in an Alleghany County, N.C. courtroom and, before the day is over, decide the fate of three children.

Federal immigration authorities deported the boys’ father, their primary caretaker and the family breadwinner, to his native Mexico in 2010. Their American-citizen mother has mental health problems that make it difficult for her to work or care for the boys alone. The two foster families caring for the boys have expressed interest in adopting them. There’s just one problem: their father, Felipe Montez.

Montez never agreed to surrender custody or willingly ceased contact with his sons. He has never been accused of mistreating his children. And, he wants to raise his children in Mexico.

“That’s really all this man wants,” said Donna Shumate, a court-appointed lawyer representing Montez. Montez could not be reached for comment late last week. “He wants to parent his own children.”

The Montez children, whose names are part of a sealed court record, are snagged in the friction between the nation’s evolving immigration enforcement apparatus and family law. And, their situation, while little known, is far from unique.

Read the full story at The Huffington Post