Free Republic

IXMIQUILPAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Seamstress Paulina Gutierrez, an ethnic Otomi Indian, prayed every day for years for a miracle to reunite her with her two sons, who were smuggled into the United States as children and have lived in permanent fear of deportation back to Mexico. Now, thanks to a major immigration policy shift by U.S. President Barack Obama, she can barely contain her excitement at the prospect of once again hugging her two boys - and two grandchildren she has never met. Without papers to get back into the United States, Gutierrez' sons cannot visit her in Mexico. She...

Some years ago a read an article in a woman's magazine concerning a large extended family that held family reunions every year. The number of attendents were in the hundreds and included many distant cousins. It seems like family reunions could have a great value to society. Family is the original form of "networking". Having a large extended family or clan provides many levels of support for the individual and nuclear family. These large family networks can provide spiritual and emotional support as well as practical support in helping members with their finances or in job hunting. Today American families...