Help the Duarte Pérez Family Rebuild — Again

After fleeing persecution and surviving cancer, the Duarte Pérez family is being forced to leave the U.S. in less than three weeks under Trump’s intensified war on immigrants. Help them find safety and stability, one more time.

Watch their interview with Telemundo

The story of their family is heartbreakingly familiar. It’s the story of countless immigrants searching for safety, hope, and a place to call home. On November 7th, more than 600,000 Venezuelans will be forced into an impossible situation: stay in the U.S. illegally and risk being “disappeared,” or leave everything they’ve built behind.

But right now, I want to tell you about just one family, my family, because their story deserves to be heard.

Meet Cecilia

Cecilia “Ceci” Pérez came to the U.S. from Venezuela when she was 21. She didn’t know a lick of English, she didn’t have a plan, but her passion for life transcended all barriers. And by a stroke of fate, a couple from Maryland with two small children welcomed her into their home. What started as a job quickly became something much deeper. Ceci became family. A sister, a daughter, a best friend. And almost thirty years later, that bond has only grown stronger.

A Family Rebuilt, Again and Again (con fuerte y valiente)

Ceci eventually moved back to Venezuela with her husband, Florentino, where they started a family and had their three children: Diego (17), Avril (15) and Issac (10).

You won’t find the phrase “God gives his strongest warriors the toughest battle” written anywhere in the bible. But I’d like to submit that for the next edition.

In 2017, the Perez family fled political persecution in Venezuela. They found temporary refuge in Colombia and worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives from scratch. Then, in 2021, a glimmer of hope appeared: Venezuelans were granted temporary legal protection in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. It felt like an answer to their prayers. They seized the chance, gathered what little they had, and began again in Washington, D.C.

After four long years, and surviving a battle with cancer, the American Dream finally felt possible. But just as life began to feel stable, the ground shifted once again.

With the recent revocation of TPS for Venezuelans, Ceci and her family now have less than three weeks to uproot their lives for the fourth time.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of this moment is what it means for their oldest son, Diego. A high school senior with a 4.0 GPA, he’s in the middle of applying to colleges — dreaming of being the first in his family to attend an American university. Now, not only will he miss graduating with his class, but those college dreams may slip out of reach entirely.

“Fuerte y valiente” (strong and brave) isn’t just the title of Florentino’s first book; it’s become their family’s way of life. Those words are their rallying cry, whispered in the hardest moments and shouted in the victorious ones. Their resilience and faith have carried them through every storm, but love and strength alone can’t buy new beginnings.

What You Can Do

The Duarte Pérez family has done everything this country asked of them. They’ve followed every law, filed every form, paid every fee, and held tight to their faith in the promise of America. For years, they’ve waited patiently for an answer to their EB-2 visa application, proof that if you do things the right way, you’ll be given a fair chance.

That answer never came.

Now, through no fault of their own, staying in the country they’ve come to call home is no longer an option. In just a few weeks, they’ll have to pack up everything they’ve built and leave. Not because they broke the rules, but because they followed them.

Leaving on their own terms means facing crushing costs all at once: flights, housing, and the countless expenses of starting over. They’ve done their part. Now, they need us to do ours.

Your donation will help them survive this transition and rebuild with dignity and hope. Even a small contribution will make a real difference. And if you can’t give, please share their story. Awareness is power.

This isn’t just financial aid. It’s an act of moral courage.

A Moment of Moral Turpitude

For many of us, the cruelty of immigration policy only exists in headlines. We watch videos of families being torn apart, we feel a wave of outrage, and then we scroll to the next thing.

But for families like Ceci’s, this isn’t a headline. It’s a lived reality.

We are living through a moment of moral crisis, where the most vulnerable are used as political pawns. Whether you voted for this or spend every day fighting against it, the story of the "immigrant" lives in all of us. I urge you to remember the country that welcomed the "American Dream."

When Policy Becomes Personal

On October 3, 2025, the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 conservative majority, paved the way for the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Legal Status (TPS) for up to 600,000 Venezuelans, effective November 7, 2025.

For decades, the U.S. recognized Venezuela’s crisis as a humanitarian and political emergency. In 2021, the Biden administration extended protection to those fleeing violence and instability. Now, that protection has been stripped away overnight.

Ahilan Arulanantham, one of the lawyers representing families like Ceci's put it best:

“This is perhaps the most extreme sign that the Supreme Court has abandoned law for politics.”

Bad policy loves company. But community, compassion, and solidarity, those are our antidotes.

Please stand with Ceci, Florentino, Avril, Diego, and Isaac. Help them find safety, stability, and the dignity they deserve.

Because helping one family find a home is the most American thing we can do.