“I don’t know,” I say. “We would have nowhere to go.”

For a moment, Mr. Wilkins doesn’t say anything. He stares at me, then at the judge, and then back at me. A second later, he launches into a million other questions, but there are no surprises, just as he promised. He asks only the things we practiced beforehand—what life at home is like, how loving Pa is with Sophie, the way he’s always willing to help out anyone who needs him. Mr. Wilkins then asks whether I think Pa would be okay if he was sent back to Mexico.

“No,” I answer. “Of course he wouldn’t. He hasn’t been there in over twenty years. That isn’t his home anymore—New York is. We need him here. He needs to be at home, where he belongs.”

“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” Mr. Wilkins says, and then he turns around to go sit beside Pa.

“Mr. Gordon?” Judge Meyer says. “Do you wish to cross-examine the witness?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

The ICE lawyer pushes his chair back and stands up. He takes a few steps closer to me, and the sound of his shoes rings loudly against the walls of the courtroom.

“Mr. Garcia,” he says to me, “what grade are you currently studying?”

I’m thrown off a little by his first question, but at least it’s easier than I’d expected. “I’m a junior in high school. I’ll be a senior in September.”

“And what are your plans for after graduation?”

Again, I’m a little confused about why he wants to know this, but I answer anyway. “I want to go to college. I wanna get into Tisch Drama.”

“So you’re hoping to go off to college a year from now, give or take a few months?”

That’s what I just said, I think. Instead, I say, “Yes.”

“With that in mind, would you argue that your dad’s potential deportation would severely alter your life? After all, you’re planning to begin your adult life only a year from now.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Mr. Wilkins says from his seat, but Judge Meyer lifts her hand up slightly, and then turns toward me to hear my answer.

“I never said I was planning to move away from home. Even if I were in college, I’d still need a place to live. I’d need my parents’ help to pay for school.”

“Would you say that having your father in the United States is the only determining factor in your ability to go to college? Would you argue that there are no affordable housing options in the greater New York City area? Or financial help available to students in your position?”