Why We Left the U.S. : A Story of Healing, and Choosing Love Over Fear.

As a licensed therapist, I’ve spent years walking beside others through their hardest moments - helping them find hope, meaning, and healing. But my own story - the one that led me to make the heart-wrenching decision to leave the U.S. - is deeply personal and con lágrimas. It’s a story of betrayal, survival, and, ultimately, choosing love over fear for the sake of my family.

We thought we would be okay. Or so we thought.

After marrying my husband, we began the long process of bringing him to the United States legally. We spent two and a half years apart - two and a half years of loving across borders, holding on to faith that one day we’d finally be together. When he arrived in 2018, it felt like a new beginning. In May 2021, I found out I was pregnant with our daughter - our now bright, loving 3.5-year-old. That moment should have been one of pure joy and stability.

But two months later, everything shifted. Even though we had updated our address with immigration services, the letter for our interview never came. My husband kept calling to check, and after many visits to our old apartment complex, we finally found the letter - wrinkled, weathered, lying between two rocks on the ground. It had been sitting there for months, soaked by rain, dried by the sun - forgotten by a system that didn’t see us.

We were devastated. Every lawyer we contacted charged for consultations only to give us hopeless news. I had just graduated from my master’s program and was still building hours toward licensure. We didn’t have money for another immigration process - especially with a baby on the way. Still, we trusted the system. We trusted a lawyer recommended by family, believing that if we followed every rule, safety would come.

But that wasn’t our reality.

Instead of guidance, we were met with broken promises and careless advice that left us more vulnerable than before. The very system meant to protect immigrant families failed us.

Mi Esposo Deserves to Be Here

My husband is a man of integrity - no criminal record, no wrongdoing - just a gentle soul with a strong work ethic and a heart full of love for his family. He deserves the same dignity and safety that anyone else does.

But the system decided our marriage wasn’t real.
And with that judgment came a deportation notice.

The pain of that moment - the helplessness, the disbelief - was unbearable. Thankfully, another attorney helped us cancel the deportation order, but the damage was done. Fear became a constant presence in our home. Even our little girl could feel it, her small body sensing the tension in every unspoken moment.

Living in Survival Mode

As a therapist, I know how to hold space for pain. But when it came to my own, I found myself in pure survival mode - helping clients by day and crying quietly at night. Every breath was heavy with uncertainty. When the When the administration changed, our hearts sank - hope felt distant, and fear crept back in - and the lawyer we trusted continued to leave us waiting, even after we paid for his services.

Choosing Safety Over Fear

Leaving the U.S. was not an easy choice. We packed our daughter’s toys, our pets’ leashes, and every fragile piece of hope we had left. After so much pain, we realized that peace and safety could no longer wait for permission—they had to be chosen.
So, we left.
Not because we gave up, but because we refused to let fear raise our daughter. The immigration was just big part of everything else. Do not get me started with the gun violence…

Our maletas… I wish I could have taken Colorado in it.

The Loss and the Love

Our decision came with deep loss. Some friends couldn’t understand. Their silence stung. But others showed up - with messages, donations, prayers, and quiet love that held us steady through the storm. Their compassion reminded me that even in exile, community carries us.

Even now, many people don’t know exactly where I am - and that’s okay. Healing sometimes requires distance and privacy.

Healing Is an Ongoing Journey

Though I left the U.S., I did not leave my calling. I am still a therapist, still bilingual, still rooted in mi cultura y mi corazón. I continue to serve clients in California and Colorado - borders through my words, my presence, and my heart.

Healing doesn’t happen all at once. It’s not linear or perfect. For me, it’s become about rebuilding with tenderness, learning to rest, and remembering that peace is possible - no matter where you are.

Our story isn’t the so-called “American Dream.” It’s imperfect, tender, and full of contradictions. But it’s a love story - one of protecting my family, choosing healing over fear, and walking a path that is authentically ours.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by your own journey, please remember this:
You are seen. You are not alone.
True safety lives en el corazón that keeps choosing love, even in uncertainty.