Alex Rodriguez Silva moved into his family’s dream home in Hialeah in South Florida three years ago. In August, he handed the keys to the new owners and packed his family’s belongings into a moving van for a four-day drive to Denver.

“We couldn’t take it anymore, the constant fear that one of us could be disappeared by ICE,” Silva said in an interview translated from Portuguese. “We wanted to stay in Florida, where we’ve built our life, but my kids deserve a place where they feel safe and welcome.”

Silva, 40, is a natural-born American citizen engaged to Ana , a Brazilian woman who came to the U.S. in 2009 and overstayed her tourist visa. Ana has one child from a previous relationship who also lacks legal permanent status, and their youngest child is an American citizen.

Silva’s chil

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