DORAL, Fla. — As the Trump administration moves forward with its offensive on suspected narco vessels, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are about to lose their legal status in the United States.
Many are essentially being forced to leave.
A Doral man, who asked that his identity be protected, said the decision has left him terrified for his future. He fears his life is on the line.
“My mom’s still there, my dad’s still there,” he said, saying he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans set to lose Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The designation allows people from countries in turmoil to live and work legally in the U.S.
But the Department of Homeland Security says Secretary Kristi Noem has determined that Venezuela no longer meets the conditions for its TPS designation.
Venezuelans who were granted TPS in 2021 are set to lose that protection on Nov. 7.
“What would it mean for you to go back to Venezuela the way it is now?” Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa asked the man.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I could be killed.”
The man showed photos from his time as a college professor and political activist in his home country, where he says he pushed back against the regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro.
He says he was beaten “many, many times” and was persecuted for being gay.
Still shaken by the experience, he said he escaped Venezuela and came to South Florida in 2022, thanks to TPS.
Like many Venezuelans in South Florida, he supports the Trump administration’s offensive against suspected drug trafficking vessels.
But he says he can’t understand why the same administration is now sending people like him back to a country the U.S. has labeled a “narco dictatorship.”
“So what do you make of that?” De La Rosa asked him.
“We don’t know how to feel,” he said. “We’re scared. No sense, just no sense.”
There is a sense of panic and alarm around Doral, with reports of people packing up their homes, selling their cars and trying to leave for countries in Europe.
Flyers are also being handed out around town to rally support for several bills in Congress, like the Venezuelan Adjustment Act which seeks to offer a road to legal residency. Other bills look to extend TPS.
But with the government shutdown, the bills aren’t going anywhere ― and the clock is ticking.
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