To his family, Roberto Villegas was the heart of the household.

“He’s the best father I could have ever asked for,” said his daughter Michelle, who will be entering high school after the summer.

In 2019, Roberto was deported.

“I get a call and he's like, 'I need you to sit down. I need you to just breathe.' He said, "Don't get scared, I just got pulled over by ICE,'” said his wife Raquel.

Raquel says Roberto was once in the U.S. legally, but more than 20 years ago, when he was coming back in the states from Mexico, he said he was a US citizen, when he was not. The penalty for lying about citizenship status is a permanent ban from living in the country. There's no appeals process, no way to fight it. His wife, kids and brothers in the U.S. were stunned.

“It's life-changing and not in a good way, a really important person just gets taken away from you and it's really hard to get accustomed to it,” said Roberto's son Jared, who is 20 years old.

Jared has taken a job to help the family pay their bills.

As the Villegas family learned, immigration laws can be very black and white. According to FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group, 1.7 million Americans have an undocumented spouse.

“The only way to get through this is to change the law,” said Kali Pliegro, the president of an effort to do exactly that. She wants there to be a pathway to citizenship for undocumented spouses with families in the U.S. It's part of the American Families United Bill.

The bill has dozens of Democratic co-sponsors and three Republicans in the house. That imbalance right now is something they’re working to fix. With concerns over border security and letting the wrong people back into the country, the bill’s advocates know this is an obstacle to get more Republicans on board.

“ There's nothing like a, a blanket approval involved. It's a case-by-case basis of judgment, whether that case merits residency,” said Kali.

“That’s why I like this bill, because without a doubt, you can look into my brother and you can see, 'Oh, this guy never had a fail to yield ticket, he paid all his taxes,'” said Roberto’s brother Joel.

This bill would be the only way Roberto could live in the U.S. again.

“When I talk to my senators or representatives, especially here in Texas, their first response is we want to secure the borders. Yes, I want you to secure the borders, but we also need to think about those families who are separated, who are US citizen families,” said Raquel.

As conversations continue about the best way to secure our borders, families stuck in the middle of policy ask for empathy and hope that a middle ground can be achieved.

“I really want people to understand that he isn't a criminal. He's my dad. He is a son. He is a husband. He is a father. And he deserves to be over here,” said Michelle.

Back in the spring, Pauline Criel and her cousins talked about reuniting for Thanksgiving at her home near Detroit after many painful months of seclusion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the virus had a different plan. Michigan is now the nation's hot spot. Hospitals there are teeming with patients, and schools are scaling back in-person learning. A resurgent virus has pushed new infections in the U.S. to 95,000 daily, hospitals in Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona are also under pressure, and health officials are pleading with unvaccinated people not to travel.

Criel's big family feast was put on hold. She is roasting a turkey and whipping together a pistachio fluff salad — an annual tradition — but only for her, her husband and two grown boys.

“I’m going to wear my stretchy pants and eat too much — and no one’s going to care," she said.

Her story reflects the Thanksgiving dilemma that families across America are facing as the gatherings become burdened with the same political and coronavirus debates consuming other arenas.

As they gather for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie, they are confronted with a list of questions: Can they once again hold big get-togethers? Can they gather at all? Should they invite unvaccinated family members? Should they demand a negative test before a guest is allowed at the dinner table or a spot on the sofa for an afternoon of football?

“I know that it might be overkill that we’re not sharing Thanksgiving here with my cousins, but better be safe than sorry, right?” said Criel, a 58-year-old data administrator for a finance company.

Jocelyn Ragusin, an accountant from Littleton, Colorado, is taking a different approach by prioritizing family time over COVID-19 concerns even as rising case counts and overwhelmed hospitals triggered new mask mandates in the Denver area this week. Ragusin, whose husband contracted the virus and spent four days in the intensive care unit in October 2020, said she is willing to accept a certain level of risk to have a sense of community back.

She said about seven or eight family members would be gathering for the holiday and that the group had not discussed one another's vaccination status beforehand, in part because they “kind of know” already who got the shots and who has had the virus already.

“Getting together is worth it. And getting together and sharing meals, and sharing life," Ragusin said while picking up her mother at the airport in Denver. "We’re just not made to live in isolation.”

The desire to bring family and friends back together for Thanksgiving was evident Wednesday in San Francisco, where the line at one grocery store stretched out the door and around the corner.

Mari Arreola was in line to buy ingredients to make tamales for a meal that will also feature salsa, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy. She sees the gathering of 12 family members this year as a symbol of hope that things are getting better. A year ago, she spent Thanksgiving only with her husband, mom and one daughter.

“We felt really disconnected, and we were all living our lives based on fear, and it looked like an apocalypse scene outside every time you left your house," the San Francisco tech consultant said of last year. “It was really scary, but now things are different.”

Even in better times, Thanksgiving has always been a trying occasion for Nadia Brown, a political science professor at Georgetown University, who loathes the awkward and divisive conversations about politics, race and other hot-button issues. COVID-19 has only made the holiday worse.

She and her husband were hoping to have a big family gathering for Thanksgiving at their home near Silver Spring, Maryland, but the start of a winter surge and lingering concerns about breakthrough cases scuttled those plans. She recently told her father and his family — even if they are vaccinated — that they must be tested to prove they are virus-free or sit out Thanksgiving dinner.

With two of Brown’s three daughters, 2 and 4, unable to get vaccinated, she doesn’t want to take any chances — “because we don’t know the long term impacts of COVID on children,” she explained.

Her decision means her father, Dr. Joseph Brown, won't be coming from his home about three hours away in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The dentist is vaccinated, but said he didn't have time to get tested.

“It hurts me a lot. I want to see my grandkids,” said Joseph Brown, while adding, “I understand her situation. I really do."

Riva Letchinger, who has seen the ravages of the pandemic firsthand as a medical student, set aside her worries to travel from her home in New York City to Washington to resume Thanksgiving festivities with her family. They skipped the gathering last year.

She said she has been reassured that everyone there has been vaccinated and received booster shots, but she is also worried about her own virus status, even though she is fully vaccinated.

“I have this consistent fear of hurting someone in my family or getting them sick because I see so many COVID patients every day,” she said.

Despite her trepidations, Letchinger is looking forward to the annual family ritual, which includes a generous complement of Jewish favorites — like the golumpkis, or stuffed cabbage, that her late aunt Susie used to bring to the Thanksgiving feast.

But the celebration will have somber undertones as well. The family lost two loved ones, both Holocaust survivors, after bouts with COVID-19 last year.

___

Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodriguez contributed to this report from San Francisco.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok. — With permission from mom, Michelle Miller shows off her three former foster kids as if they were her own.

"I cared about them a lot, so I wanted the best and it was frustrating because I couldn't just go out and find a place," she said.

What Miller is referring to was the hunt to find child care since the children were all below kindergarten age. It was an agonizing, long process. Some facilities had no availability, some had waitlists with indeterminate ends, and if they did have availability, it wasn’t for all three kids. Pandemic protocols also hindered the search.

"Not only could we not see a lot of the classrooms, then we couldn't even meet the teacher. So, it was kind of an uncomfortable feeling, but you had to have childcare, you have to, so we just kept trying and trying," she said.

Miller eventually lucked out in her search, but according to the executive director of the Oklahoma childcare resource and referral association, her struggle is shared. The lack of options is what some say are holding back parents from re-entering the workforce.

"We've seen it across the entire state. We've seen it across the entire country," said executive director Paula Koos.

In a report released in September by the US Department of the Treasury, about half the country is in a “childcare desert”. That term is defined by at least three children for every one open daycare spot. In some areas, like the Oklahoma panhandle, there are five children for every one open spot and one open daycare center for the three counties that make up the area.

"For parents. It's been difficult because facilities have had to downsize. Staff have been out sick and so they're not serving as many children," Koos said.

Ramona Johnson is a director at Rainbow Fleet, a relatively new daycare facility in Oklahoma City.

"We're full until. Late summer, early fall of next year. I'm with child, I'm on our waitlist here and I work here," she said.

The lack of open spots for her center and ones like it around the country comes down to one thing: staffing.

"We've used Indeed and other work website, so it's definitely been a struggle and even sometimes that has been disappointing," she said. "Just paying for these websites and people don't show up for interviews or, you know, people show up and they don't stay long."

Staffing issues are not a pandemic-born problem, but COVID revealed just how critical it has become.

There are strict ratios of teachers to children and if a teacher leaves, the daycare has to lose spots, and because they’re mostly private businesses, they lose income.

Between 26% and 40% of the child care workforce, which is made up almost entirely of women and a third of which are women of color, leave every year. This is mostly because of poor pay and no benefits.

At an average salary is just $24,230, making child care workers are in the bottom two percentile of occupations.

However, families are spending on average 13% of their income on high childcare costs.

"The child care industry as a whole is often seen as just babysitting and it's so much more," said Stephanie Daniels, a child care consultant based in Tulsa.

She says the overhead costs of supplies are what eat up most of the money going into childcare. With how things are trending, she says some intervention must happen.

"There needs to be a public investment of some kind to really help sustain this workforce," said Daniels.

There’s help written into Biden’s current Build Back Better plan. It has an agenda to make childcare more affordable and available, but as it’s being trimmed down by trillions, it’s not certain whether the child care measures will remain in it.

As Washington determines whether or not to through the industry a lifesaver, Miller has hope for parents and guardians who were in her position.

"I'm sure that Oklahoma isn't the only place struggling, but I know that it's a need and it's going to get worked out, I feel that," she said.

The RV industry has seen a significant increase in rentals and sales over the summer. One company, RVshare, reported more than a 1,000% increase in rentals.

Now, the trend seems to be moving beyond just a summer vacation alternative. Some are turning to it as a new way to home-school and work during this pandemic.

Some families are turning these RVs into their primary or secondary homes.

"I think it is difficult for families to be cooped up," said Julie Partridge.

Partridge was already considering making the switch to RV life before the pandemic, but after five months of social distancing and quarantining in her home, she decided to finally do it.

She sold the family home and hit the road to live, home-school her kids and work from an RV.

"Obviously our camper is much smaller than our house,” said Partridge. “Substantially smaller, but you have this vast open world available to you. You feel less cooped up in this camper than you do in this 3,000 square foot house."

She also feels the move to full-time RV life this fall will also give her kids a unique educational opportunity.

"We really want to see the national parks,” said Partridge. “I want my kids to do the park ranger program. I want to use that as their science and social studies curriculum from the road. So, we are really excited about those parts."

The Partridge family is just one of many either committing to or newly considering RV life in the fall, according to a survey done by the RV rental company RVshare.

"We have, from our survey, seen that over 30% of people are considering homeschooling from the road and over 40% of people are considering working from the road and that is something that is new to the industry," RVshare Jon Gray.

"You have school not opening on time, you have a lot of employers turning to work from anywhere models for the extended future and those things have made it to where RVs are appealing deep into the fall," said Gray.

The pandemic has changed so much in our lives. Many people are looking to get away from the uncertainty and continued concern with it. This seems to be one way for some to do that.

"It is saving us money, it is teaching them lessons, it has really been kind of refreshing," said Partridge.

HAMILTON, Ohio — In what has been a difficult year for most people, a Hamilton barbershop is working to put smiles on the faces of kids and their families.

Plush Cuts Barbershop, located in the 800 block of Central Avenue, hosted its sixth annual Christmas toy drive Wednesday. A steady stream of people came into the shop and picked out toys.

Owner Shawn Jarrett said this is the barbershop's biggest toy drive yet.

“We’ve seen a need in the community and the pandemic doesn’t help,” he said.

Jarrett, who grew up in Hamilton and has been in business since 1996, said he feels a deep connection to every kid who walks through his door.

The barbershop collected more than 500 toys, and more than 90 people showed up before noon to pick one.

“I see how hard it is for people," Jarrett said. "Some people can’t afford a haircut, so we want to give people a break.”

Fellow business owners Slim Life Ministries and Singletary Construction helped Jarrett make the toy drive a success. Dozens of Plush Cuts customers also donated to the total as the shop adopted three families this year who had special needs and requests.

“Many families asked for shoes. We even got a bike and other toys with the money," Jarrett said. "This year is bigger than last year. It grows every year and it gets better.”

DENVER, Co. — Taking children away from parents is a heartbreaking situation. Now, a federal law just put into effect Oct. 1 is hoping to prevent those moments.

The Families First Prevention Services Act aims to move away from placing children into residential facilities or group homes, and instead, keeps them in either a foster home or, preferably, their own home. In order to do that, federal dollars will be put towards services that can be accessed at the home, something that couldn't be done before.

National data says the most common reasons children end up in the foster care system are neglect and drug abuse. By providing treatment in the home, the hope is that it will heal the family unit from within.

"That could be for substance use. That could be for mental health issues that could be for really strengthening families and making more resources available to families to utilize while they're together in their home, rather than having to remove a child before you can access that funding for those support services," said Yolanda Arredondo, a child welfare professional.

She says the new law makes it so children will only be taken out of the home and into a group setting if it is absolutely necessary.

"Because that need is there not just a reaction to this family circumstance, that it really is a need to protect the safety and well-being of a child," said Arredondo, "and hopefully that's temporary and we can provide treatment-focused services to reunify the family as quickly as possible."

In Colorado, where Arredondo works, the state has already been implementing these new federal rules over the last few years. Right now, they serve 70% of children and families in their own home, 30% are with foster families. However, some advocates are concerned that since more foster homes will be needed, there won’t be enough places for children to go.

Arrendondo says she hasn’t necessarily seen that, but anyone interested in becoming a foster parent should seek out resources near them.

Hopefully, this new law means more families getting the help they need to stay together through the tough times in hopes of a brighter future.

Though the Internal Revenue Service sent out the third monthly child tax credit payment last week, some families are still waiting for the funds.

Angry parents have contacted CNN, taken to Twitter and posted to other online sites complaining that they did not receive the money on Sept. 15 as expected. Eligible families can get up to $300 for each child up to age 6 and up to $250 for each one ages 6 to 17.

The agency, which distributed $15 billion in credits to about 35 million families last week, acknowledged Friday that "some individuals" had yet to receive their September payments, though they were sent ones for July and August. It also noted that these parents may not be able to see the status of the payment on the IRS' child tax credit portal.

The August distribution, however, also didn't go that smoothly. The agency said last month that some families — fewer than 15% — who received direct deposit in July were mailed paper checks for August. But it expected to have the problem resolved in time for the September batch.

The IRS, which acknowledged Friday that it was looking into the situation, did not immediately provide CNN with an update on Tuesday.

John Belfiore, a father of two teen boys, is getting antsy. He lost his job as a telemarketer for a finance company in February after contracting COVID-19 and spending eight days on a ventilator. The monthly child tax credit payments of $500, along with the pandemic unemployment benefits, were helping keep his family of four afloat.

But now that the enhanced unemployment benefits have ended, the child tax credit has become even more important for the Lake Forest, California, family. They received the funds for July and August via direct deposit, but the IRS portal says nothing about the September payment.

"I'm budgeting penny to penny," said Belfiore, who tried to call the agency but hung up after waiting on hold for an hour. "The $500 gives me gas money to get to interviews and keep the lights on."

Here are more details about the expanded child tax credit:

Who qualifies?

Created by the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in March, the full enhanced credit is available for heads of households earning up to $112,500 a year and joint filers making up to $150,000, after which it begins to phase out.

For many families, the credit then plateaus at $2,000 per child and starts to phase out for single parents earning more than $200,000 or for married couples with incomes above $400,000.

More low-income parents are eligible for the child tax credit because the relief package made it fully refundable. It had been only partially refundable — leaving more than 26 million children unable to get the full credit because their families' incomes were too low, according to Treasury Department estimates.

About half of Black and Latino children, as well as kids living in rural communities, received only a partial credit or no credit at all because their families' incomes were too low prior to the enhancement, said the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The provision means that a single mother with a toddler and a second-grader who earns $12,000 a year would see her credit increase to $6,600 for 2021, up from about $1,425, according to the center.

The Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill seeks to make the credit fully refundable permanently.

Parents who aren't citizens can receive the payments for their citizen children as long as they have individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) and their children have Social Security numbers.

Families can check their eligibility through this IRS website.

How much will I get?

That depends on your household income and family size.

Eligible families can receive a total of up to $3,600 for each child under 6 and up to $3,000 for each one age 6 to 17 for 2021. That's an increase from the regular child tax credit of up to $2,000 for each child up to age 17.

When will I see the money?

Parents will receive half their credit on a monthly basis through the rest of the year. The payments will be made on the 15th of each month, unless that falls on a weekend or holiday.

They can claim the other half when they file their 2021 taxes next year.

Parents can check if they are enrolled to receive the advance payments at an IRS portal. They can also use it to provide or update their bank account information.

Those who don't receive their monthly payments until later in the year will still get half the credit in 2021.

Families who want to receive the payments as a lump sum can opt out of the monthly installments at the IRS portal.

Some parents may not want to get the monthly payments, particularly if their incomes increase this year. The payments are credits toward families' tax liability for 2021, but are based on 2020 or 2019 income and household size. Some who get the advance credits could wind up receiving much smaller refunds — or even owing taxes — next spring when they complete their 2021 returns.

The IRS advises parents whose incomes or circumstances change during the year to update their information through the agency's portal when it adds the functionality. The IRS can then adjust the monthly payments accordingly.

Lawmakers, however, protected lower-income parents from potential overpayments. Heads of households making $50,000 or less and joint filers with incomes of $60,000 or less will not need to repay any excess payments.

Do I have to do anything to get it?

The vast majority of families get the credit automatically because they filed 2019 or 2020 returns claiming the credit.

The IRS also sends the payments to Americans who previously used its non-filer portal to register for the stimulus checks.

But families who haven't filed tax returns recently or used the non-filer tool must take action. They can use another IRS portal to register to receive the enhanced child tax credit. The sign-up tool allows users to provide the necessary information about their households and, if they choose, their bank accounts so the agency can directly deposit the funds.

Parents can also go to GetCTC.org to file simplified returns and claim the enhanced credit. The site, which launched earlier this month, was developed by the non-profit Code for America, in collaboration with the White House and the Treasury Department. It is available in English and Spanish.

The IRS portal has been criticized because the tool is only in English and does not work well on cell phones.

CINCINNATI —

As students prepare to head back to class, Harrison Pavilion Rehabilitation residents and staff teamed up to stuff and hand out backpacks full of school supplies to local families.

For the second year in a row, the Westwood facility packed 250 bags of donated paper, glue, crayons, binders and other supplies.

"If I want to help some child, that’s what I want to do," Harrison resident Ray Dawson said as he packed binders into the purple drawstring bag. "It makes me happy. Because they are being happy and when you can make someone happy you have shared a little bit of your happiness with them."

On Monday, families lined up an hour before the scheduled start time to secure a free bag for their children. The Schultze family arrived first with hopes of receiving three bags for their kids. Jennifer Schulze says during the pandemic her family became homeless. She says she, her husband and three kids have been living in different hotels for the past year.

"It means the world," Schulze said of the Harrison Pavilion staff after her kids picked up their backpacks. "I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts.”

Christopher Schulze is set to enter the fourth grade at Delshire Elementary School. He told WLWT he was excited to use his new supplies to study math and science.

"It means a lot because I get to learn a lot of big stuff,” Christopher Schulze said of the residents packing supplies.

In addition to supplies, residents gave a word of encouragement to students as they start a new school year.

"For them," resident Tina Hill said. "To be strong, just keep looking up and things will get better.”

COVINGTON, Ky. — There is a new safety net going in place for parents and children who lose their homes in Greater Cincinnati.

Welcome House of Northern Kentucky broke ground on its new, $6.4 million Homeless Services Center Thursday. It will become one of only two places in Greater Cincinnati that provides shelter for mothers, fathers and children.

"We have families living together in cars, living in storage units,” said Welcome House CEO Danielle Amrine. “There’s no place for them to go to be able to shelter together as a family."

She said the new location will allow them to double in size and serve about 65 people.

The updated facility will also allow them to serve older adults, transitional-age youth and those who need elevator access.

"Reasons for homelessness change. The environment changes. Welcome House will be able to adapt to meet the changing needs for years to come,” said Covington Mayor Joe Meyer at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony.

Meyer said Covington alone cannot keep up with the growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness.

"We need more help. We've given significant financial support to Welcome House and perhaps just as important policy support for their services. We have not gotten in the way to make it harder for them to do their work. We've made it easier for them to do their work, and we implore the other governments of northern Kentucky to do the same,” said Mayor Meyer.

It will take crews about a year to finish construction at the new location. It is located at 1132 Greenup Street. You can contact them for service at 859-431-8717.

You can also talk to a specialist about what services could benefit you by calling 311.

You can reach Bethany House at 513-381-7233 (SAFE).

For a complete list of services that could also benefit those struggling with eviction or homelessness, click here.