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BEFORE THE BREAK, WE TOOK A LOOK AT OUR CORRESPONDENT LEONE LAKHANI 2019 STORY FOLLOWING A MOTHER AND HER THREE CHILDREN FROM THEIR HOMETOWN IN WISCONSIN TO HER HUSBAND’S NATIVE HOME IN THE GAMBIA. LEONE, NICE TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR JOINING ME. SO IT HAS BEEN SIX YEARS SINCE YOU FIRST REPORTED THAT STORY. WHY DON’T YOU FILL US IN ON WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THAT FAMILY SINCE THEN? SO KATRINA AND THE KIDS ACTUALLY CAME BACK TO THE STATES. THEY CAME BACK TO WISCONSIN BECAUSE HER YOUNGEST SON, NOBLE, ACTUALLY NEEDED A BIT OF SPECIAL CARE. SO THEY’RE BACK HERE. THEY’VE BEEN TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH AS MUCH AS THEY CAN TO SEE THEIR DAD. THEY’RE STILL WORKING ON THE PATHWAY, THE DOCUMENTATION PATHWAY FOR BOOBA. HER HUSBAND. YOU KNOW, HE HAS TO BE OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS BEFORE THEY CAN BRING HIM IN, BUT THEY’RE GETTING CLOSE TO THAT. BUT SHE WAS SAYING THAT IF SHE HAD A CHOICE, SHE WOULD GO BACK IN A SECOND. SHE WAS WORKING THERE AS A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR, AND SHE’S DOING THAT NOW AS WELL. THIS STORY IS PART OF A SERIES THAT YOU DID, FOR A MATTER OF FACT, A SERIES THAT IS STILL VERY RELEVANT EVEN TODAY. SOME OF THESE STORIES YOU’VE COVERED YEARS AGO. RIGHT. TELL ME ABOUT THAT. YEAH. SO WE FOUND THIS COMMUNITY OF WOMEN ON FACEBOOK WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO HAD DECIDED TO SELF-DEPORT THEMSELVES WITH THEIR HUSBANDS WHO’D BEEN DEPORTED, MANY OF THEM TO MEXICO, JUST TO KEEP THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER. AND WE FOUND THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE THESE SOME OF THESE WOMEN HAD COULDN’T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, WEREN’T FAMILIAR WITH THE CULTURE. THEY WERE TRYING TO ASSIMILATE. AND THIS COMMUNITY WAS HELPING EACH OTHER OUT. WE DID MOST RECENTLY A STORY WITH KARINA, WHO CAME TO THE COUNTRY WHEN SHE WAS ONLY SEVEN YEARS OLD, AND SHE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO HAS GOT A REALLY COMPLEX SITUATION IN HER FAMILY BECAUSE THE DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STATUSES. SO KARINA WAS ABLE TO BECOME A US CITIZEN. HER HUSBAND JOINED THE MILITARY, BUT SHE’S GOT HER DAD WHO’S GOT A TOWING COMPANY. HE EMPLOYS PEOPLE, PAYS HIS TAXES, CAN’T FIND A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP. SO IT JUST SHOWS LIKE THE NUANCES AND THE COMPLEXITIES. AND I THINK WHAT RESONATES IS THAT THE ISSUES ARE STILL THE SAME AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. WE’RE STILL SEEING THE SAME ISSUES. AND EVERY TIME YOU TALK TO ANY OF THESE FAMILIES, THE ONE THING THEY SAY IS THE SYSTEM REALLY NEEDS SOME FORM OF REFORM. WE NEED SOME KIND OF IMMIGRATION REFORM BECAUSE ALL THESE FAMILIES ARE JUST IN A STATE OF LIMBO AT THE MOMENT. ONE THING I’VE NOTICED OVER THE PAST NOW, ALMOST TEN YEARS THAT WE’VE WORKED TOGETHER, YOU ARE SO GOOD AT GETTING PEOPLE TO SHARE VERY PERSONAL STORIES WITH YOU BECAUSE THEY TRUST YOU. TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACH THAT. I THINK IT’S PARTLY BECAUSE THESE ARE NOT INTERVIEWS WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHERE WE’RE LIKE ASKING QUESTIONS TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, FIND OUT FOLLOW UPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE SHARING VERY PERSONAL TIMES OF THEIR LIVES AND VERY PERSONAL PARTS OF THEIR FAMILY. AND I THINK IT’S JUST IT’S JUST RESPECTING THAT. SO I DON’T WANT TO BREAK THAT TRUST. AND I THINK THAT’S PART OF JUST SHOWING THEM THAT YOU CAN TRUST ME. AND I PROMISE I WILL TRY AND DO THE BEST THAT I CAN WITH YOUR STORY. IT HAS BEEN A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK WITH YOU OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS. REPORTING IS ABSOLUTELY STELLAR. THANK YOU F