![PeteSessions_KarumiDuran](https://wtaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PeteSessions_KarumiDuran.jpg)
After seven months of being separated, a woman is reunited with her family with the help of Congressman Pete Sessions and his office.
Last May, a staff member in Congressman Pete Sessions’s office met with Karumi Duran’s husband to discuss her case.
Duran, a DACA recipient since 2013, had been denied a return to the U.S. after a failed interview at the U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
Sessions’s office continued to work on the case, and eventually an interview was scheduled and her visa was approved.
She returned to Texas on September 9th, finally reunited with her one year old baby girl, husband and family.
Duran says she wants to share her story because this is not something anyone should have to go through.
“It was really, really hard to maintain happy and positive, but I knew with Pete Sessions and my lawyer, they were keeping me hopeful and I thought maybe we can do this, we can do this,” says Duran.
Duran graduated from Texas A&M in 2018 and now lives and teaches in Tyler.
Click below to hear Pete Sessions and Karumi Duran visiting with media.
Listen to “Congressman Pete Sessions Welcomes Texas Woman Home” on Spreaker.
News release from the office of Congressman Pete Sessions:
After months of uncertainty, Karumi Duran finally returned home to Tyler, Texas, reuniting with her husband and 1-year-old baby daughter after seven long months of separation. Duran was previously denied a return to the United States of America after a failed interview at the U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez in Mexico vetting legal permanent residency.
Duran and parents arrived in the United States when she was six years old without proper immigration documentation. Regardless, she was raised and educated as a Texan, graduating from Texas A&M University in 2018. Since 2013, Duran was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
On May 7, 2021, a staff member of the Office of Congressman Sessions met with Duran’s husband and delved into the complicated case. Her first attempt for humanitarian parole was denied, but the Office of Congressman Sessions continued to work relentlessly on her behalf. A parole was finally obtained with a contingency of being valid for only 30 days to get an interview at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Congressman Sessions jumped into action on her behalf and made a direct call to the State Department. Quickly after, her interview was scheduled and the visa was approved. Duran just landed in the Houston airport on Thursday, September 9, 2021, finally reunited with her one year old baby girl, husband and family.
Karumi Duran and family have expressed their sincerest gratitude for Congressman Sessions’ office and intervention. The reunited family reached out to the Office of Congressman Sessions to schedule a meeting to express their appreciation for all the efforts made on the family’s behalf. The meeting on Friday, September 17, 2021, will be a time for Congressman Sessions to welcome Duran home and for the family to share their thoughts with the Congressman.