MIAMI — Unattainable travel documents keep Venezuelan migrants from boarding flights after relatives’ deportations. A nonprofit stepped in to help, but they need solutions.
Yelitza Pérez, the 29-year-old mother of two girls, said President Donald Trump’s administration deported her husband to Venezuela, and she couldn’t afford to stay in the U.S. without him.
Pérez opted to self-deport. But once she arrived to her connecting flight at Miami International Airport, the airline did not allow her to board her flight to Venezuela without a safety pass.
“Oh my God! I almost wanted to die,” Pérez said.
The only way the airlines would allow her to fly to Venezuela was if she was able to get a pass or “salvoconducto” from a Venezuelan consulate or embassy, but those were closed in 2019.
Pérez was part of a larger group of Venezuelans who slept with their children at MIA, where they were unable to afford a hotel or food.
“I sat with my children to cry,” a mother, who asked to be referred to as Jennifer, said.
Pérez and Jennifer said they reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to explain the dilemma. A CBP representative told Jennifer that CBP couldn’t help her.
“They couldn’t help me without a passport,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer reached out to a stranger on TikTok, who promised to help her in exchange for cash. The opportunistic fraudster stole her $520.
Miami-based nonprofit Hermanos De La Calle helped the vulnerable Venezuelans to get a place to stay and food while they remained stuck in a hopeless limbo.
Homeland Security has yet to respond to a request for information about the cases. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said she and her team were trying to find solutions.
Read the statement from DHS
In coordination with the Department of State, DHS actively engages with foreign governments to facilitate the travel documents for voluntary self-deportations. In some instances, however, the issuance of those documents is determined by the receiving country and cannot be compelled by the United States. DHS provides information and case-specific guidance to illegal aliens seeking to self-deport. Voluntary self-deportation remains subject to commercial carrier requirements and the admission requirements of the destination country.
DHS continues to support lawful and orderly departures and to work with interagency and international partners to mitigate documentation challenges where possible. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure by utilizing the CBP Home app to receive a free flight home and $2,600.
Source: Steve Sapp, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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