The board determined that the effect of Alvarado's visitation with Michael was not enough to meet the required standard for him to stay in the country. The board noted that Alvarado said he would live in the border town of Mexicali if deported, which "would not require a lengthy journey for the respondent's children to visit him."
But it would rely on the willingness of Michael's mother to allow her young son to travel south of the border.
Campo, 32, also has three children from another relationship. She and Alvarado now get along and communicate regularly about their son. Campo said she doesn't want Alvarado to be deported, and she doesn't want her son leaving the country.
"I've heard a lot of things about Mexico," she said. "I just don't feel safe sending him there."
Alvarado has two other U.S.-born sons -- ages 2 and 4 -- with his current girlfriend, an illegal immigrant from Brazil. If Alvarado is deported, his girlfriend said, she and the two boys would go with him to Mexico.
Alvarado said he feels caught between two conflicting courts. If he is deported, he said, he won't be able to afford the child support payment and will be in violation of a state court order. But if he is ordered deported and stays, then he will be in violation of a federal court order.
"One way or another, it's a risk for me," he said.
Possible options
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider, who has been presiding over family law cases for nearly three decades, couldn't comment about Alvarado's situation but said deportation cases shouldn't be treated differently from traditional cases in which a parent moves away.
A parent could ask a judge to order cross-border visitation. A judge could also alter a child support order after a deportation. If the parent already had been deported, he probably would need to send a family law attorney in his place to court proceedings, Schnider said.
"Just because somebody is forcing you to move away, it still ends up the same for the child," he said. "There is really no reason why a child shouldn't be able to visit their parent wherever they live."
Making the visitation work, however, could be expensive and complicated, Schnider said. And a judge would consider any potential concerns about whether the deported parent would return the child after a visit.
