In Denmark, refused migrants who do not comply with their orders to return to their countries-of-origin are housed at specialised ‘departure centres’. This article examines these centres focusing on (in)visibility and disrupted family life based on a dataset consisting of documents, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and observations and informal field interviews with migrants collected between 2017–2021. Drawing on the work of Foucault and Deleuze, the article argues that the departure centre simultaneously renders migrants hyper-visible as ‘aliens in exit position’ about to depart, and invisibilizes some migrants’ ties to children and spouses with residence in Denmark. Furthermore, the study finds that the departure centre disrupts family life rather than eradicating it. Families find ways to resist the forced separation, either by commuting or through relocation of the family. Meanwhile, their love of their children add to the pain of deportability and confronts family-separated migrant parents with the burdened choice of continuing a straining half-life, bringing their children to a place with inferior life prospects or leaving them behind. Finally, for some balancing the demands of deportability and parenthood lead to criminalization, as choosing to care for a sick child rather than observing one’s curfew is a criminal offence.