Some very encouraging news for Elizabeth Perez, an Ohio mom and honorably-discharged Marine Corps veteran who has been fighting for the return of her husband Marcos since his deportation in 2010.
This week, the Cleveland City Council passed an emergency resolution 15-0, urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services and the White House to help the Perez family be united in America once again.
The resolution indicates that as a result of Elizabeth’s service she’s been left with an 80 percent “service-connected disability, and receives weekly care at the Cleveland VA hospital,” making it impossible for the Perez family to move to Mexico and for her to continue receiving the same level of care.
The separation has been taxing in other ways as well. Perez says the last five years, her two small children have virtually grown up without their dad, except for Skype chats and phone calls.
“That’s the hardest part for me is that they’re losing out on having their father and that just really tears me… tears me up,” Elizabeth said.
Marcos was detained during a traffic stop on his way to work. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time with the couple’s youngest child, received the news only when she was woken by a frantic phone call from Marcos.
Since Marcos’s deportation to Mexico in 2010, Elizabeth has not only been a fierce advocate for her own family, but other families who have faced deportation, including the widely-publicized Ricardo Ramos case.
Last March, Elizabeth’s family tried applying for humanitarian parole in an effort to bring Marcos back, but it was denied by the government.
Still, Elizabeth has not given up hope. Last month, she, along with local group HOLA Ohio, organized a 21-mile march that attracted the support of 100 other Ohioans and advocates from across the country.
In fact, during the walk to St. Casimir’s church in Cleveland, Elizabeth and allies passed through East Cleveland, an adjacent city, and noticed that the City Hall lacked one very important adornment: an American flag.
Elizabeth and her allies at HOLA requested a flag from Rep. Dave Joyce’s office, and donated it to the city of East Cleveland last night.
The East Cleveland Ohio Citizens News Network reports that, because of the donation, “the people of East Cleveland have adopted the Perez family and want a reunited family to be back and together.”
You can learn more about Elizabeth’s family and their campaign to reunite by watching this America’s Voice video. Then, add your support to her case by signing this petition asking the Department of Homeland Security to reunite Elizabeth’s family.
