He was born in the Naval Hospital in St. Albans, New York, and grew up in Brooklyn. Suarez attended Brooklyn public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, graduating in 1974 from John Dewey High School. In 1975 he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Brooklyn Council. In 2009, Suarez was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the NCAC. He earned a BA in African History from New York University and an MA in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and three children, Rafael, Eva, and Isabel. Suarez is active locally and nationally in the Episcopal Church.

He is the author of the 1999 book The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration: 1966-1999, a social commentary on the causes of the destitution found in the inner city. He also authored the 2006 book, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America, which examines the way Americans worship, how organized religion and politics intersect in America, and how this powerful collision is transforming the current and future American mind-set. The book is beginning to gather accolades for its timeliness and fair coverage from many sides of the issue. Suarez was a contributing editor for Si Magazine, a short-lived magazine depicting the Latino experience in the U.S.

Suarez currently hosts the program Destination Casa Blanca, produced by HITN TV. The program covers Latino politics and policy for a national audience from Washington, D.C.

Suarez has contributed to many other books, including How I Learned English, "Brooklyn: A State of Mind", "Saving America's Treasures", and "About Men." His columns, op-eds, and criticism have been published in The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

He co-wrote and hosted the 2009 documentary for PBS, Jerusalem: Center of the World, and narrated Anatomy of a Pandemic, on the H1N1 outbreak, for PBS.