DORAL, Fla. – Outside El Arepazo in Doral, a mother of two from Venezuela hides in the shadows, worried about the safety of her family should they be forced to return to a country governed by Nicolas Maduro’s brutal regime.
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“My children grew up here practically, they don’t want to return, and we can’t return, our lives are in danger if we return,” she said. “For example if I return, I can be jailed, because I escaped and I am not with the Maduro dictatorship. In this moment, I feel I run from my country, looking for freedom, for my family stay well, and now here, we are persecuted again, it is hard, but I trust in God.”
4 p.m. report:
“At the beginning of this year my son said, ‘I am afraid of ICE, of the police,’ I said calm down, but it is sad that my children said these things,”’ she added.
“So you feel the land of the free has turned its back on you?” asked Local 10’s Christina Vazquez.
“The land of the free, the country, no. I feel one person, or a little bit of the country is doing that, but this country, I am so grateful because all these years we are safe here. I am very, very grateful for this country,” the woman said.
As a flurry of U.S. court rulings rattle the foundation of her life in America, Monday’s Supreme Court ruling allows the Trump administration to strip legal protections for Venezuelans whose TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, would have otherwise expired last month.
Doral Vice Mayor and immigration attorney Maureen Porras describes it as legal whiplash.
“You are saying they could be deported at any moment?” asked Vazquez.
“Yes, those that have TPS from the 2023 designation under this ruling are vulnerable,” said Porras. “That is a period of limbo unfortunately, so during this time while they are not protected, they could be picked up, they could be removed, and if the courts rule to continue TPS, then those folks out of luck honestly.”
“There is definitely a lot of whiplash,“ added Porras. ”A lot of people are concerned, confused, it is hard to keep up with the changes and explain to our residents what this means. It is a very confusing time, people are being pulled back and forth.”
Porras said she expected they would keep the status quo until that other ruling was issued while pending related litigation makes its way through court.
“Right now all these individuals who had TPS that are now again finding themselves without protection are going to have to start making preparations to move, leave their businesses, leave their jobs,” said Porras. “Right now there is a lot of instability, it is definitely not want we need in the city right now and I think these people deserve need to be out of limbo.”
Venezuelan-American advocate Adelys Ferro described the ruling this way:
“It is a sad day, tens of thousands of them don’t have the possibility to go back because they have been politically persecuted by the Nicolas Maduro regime.
For many of them, going back to Venezuela means incarceration, kidnapping or something even worse, and on Monday, the Supreme Court gave the Trump Administration what they asked for, which is reversing the decision that Judge Chen granted as an emergency way to keep Venezuelans with TPS.
It has prompted bipartisan blowback from several federal lawmakers.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: “Venezuelan TPS holders fled the Maduro Regime and built lives in America. The Supreme Court’s decision is absolutely wrong. It allows Trump to deport non criminals back to a criminal dictatorship.”
Carlos Gimenez: “We must not allow the actions of a few criminals to define an entire community that overwhelmingly respects our laws and values.”
Maria Elvira Salazar: “I’m deeply disappointed with today’s Supreme Court decision to abruptly end TPS for over 300,000 Venezuelans. Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro also leads Tren de Aragua—a transnational criminal enterprise. We must not send innocent people back into the grip of a narco-terrorist. That’s why I’m asking the Trump Administration to grant Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Venezuelans and CHNV beneficiaries. We should protect those fleeing tyranny—not return them to it.”
The United States designated Venezuela for TPS on the basis of conditions in Venezuela that prevented nationals from returning safely.
“I think this is a program that the U.S. came up with because they really wanted to protect the folks who really could not go back to their countries, and we know Venezuela is not a safe place right now,” said Porras. “Even though the protection is temporary, I think there is a lot of different analysis that have to be made before terminating it. I don’t think that analysis was made, and also there needs to be a period of preparation and a period of grace for them to understand this and prepare for what the next step is.”
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