I suggest the system is fixed so neither you nor anyone else has to suffer family separation.
I want him to be accountable for his actions. I would feel this way even without the separation, simply because we wanted to do it right from the beginning. With a precedent like this, any illegal could become legal just by marrying an American, a new version of anchor babies.
Also, $5,000 is too little a penalty for such blatant long-term violation of the law. Make it $5,000 per year, then we can start talking.
I suggest the system is fixed so neither you nor anyone else has to suffer family separation.
A temporary visa for already-married couples would have been perfect, allowing the family to get the massive paperwork and interviews accomplished in the US (deportation, of course, if residency denied). But that still hinges on the foreigner making an effort to enter the country legally, which this guy never did. He thought he could just walk in an make all of his previous illegal actions go away.
He could always take his family to Mexico with him.
He CHOSE to break the law. This is HIS FAULT. This is nobody else's responsibility.
He should have done things right, rather than relying on the hope that he wouldn't get caught.
Any time you take legal steps to do anything, there is a waiting period. For example if I want a new car, I will have to fill out the papers and wait to make the deal the legal way. I could steal the car and have it right away, but that would not make it right.
The only people who have a right to be in this country are those born here and those who come through legal channels. All others are criminals, plain and simple. He should have done it right the first time. I feel no sympathy for him or his family. If I steal a car instead of buying it, and I go back later to pay for the car, I am sure I will have to first be arrested and tried for stealing the car before I can do it the right way. There are consequences for illegal actions and that is as it should be.
A local rancher fell in love with a lady who lived in Mexico. They wanted to marry, and he wanted her to come to the US to live with him on his ranch. She was not allowed in this country until her papers were in order, they did get married and did everything the legal way and they were seperated for a while. People kidded him and told him he should have just walked her across; his house is less than 2 miles from the border. He and his wife chose to do the whole process legally from the beginning. The plus is they won't have problems later, as they would if she had simply moved across the border.
It really is very simple, you either do things the legal way or the illegal way. If you choose the illegal way, then don't ask for sympathy from me when you are caught.
I took mercy on a cockroach once.