Venezuelans fear deportation after Trump changes TPS rule

DW (English)

Venezuelans fleeing persecution by the Maduro regime have so far been able to obtain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the US. However Trump's overhaul of US immigration law now has many fearing deportation.

Transcript

00:00Ronald Ballorín arrived in Florida six years ago.

00:02He left his native Venezuela at short notice.

00:06There he was a well-known university professor

00:08and a columnist for a local newspaper.

00:11But his criticism of Nicolás Maduro's government

00:13made him a target of the regime.

00:15The police arrested me in 2012.

00:19I was accused of something.

00:20No one knows who did it because they never showed me the complaint.

00:23I was taken to a cell for about 10 minutes.

00:26When the officer realized who I was, he said,

00:28what are you doing here? Let's get you out.

00:30Later on, his office was raided and ransacked by the police.

00:34That's when he decided to leave immediately

00:36for the United States with his family,

00:39without telling them what was happening.

00:42I brought them here as a surprise,

00:44as if it were my wife's birthday present.

00:47When we arrived, I showed her all the evidence.

00:49When you emigrate to another country at short notice,

00:52you take practically nothing.

00:53Here in the city of Doral,

00:55he has built his own maintenance business.

00:57He says he feels fully integrated,

00:59but now faces deportation when his Temporary Protected Status,

01:03or TPS, expires in September,

01:05and his asylum requests have been repeatedly denied.

01:10I hired a law firm.

01:11It cost me $7,000, so I don't trust lawyers.

01:16Doral is home to thousands of Venezuelans,

01:18many of them with TPS.

01:20It has allowed them to work, create businesses,

01:22and start a new life here.

01:24Now that President Trump has removed it,

01:26many don't know what's going to happen.

01:29Stories like Ronald's come in daily to local NGOs.

01:32Helen Villalonga has spent 18 years

01:34helping Venezuelans in the region.

01:35Now they have filed a lawsuit to extend the protection,

01:39arguing they cannot return.

01:42We still have the same regime,

01:43the same dictator aggressively attacking dissidents.

01:47But we also have people like the current president

01:50of the United States,

01:52who, although he says he will not have relations

01:54with that regime,

01:55sends envoys who shake hands with them.

01:59In January, Trump representatives met

02:02with Nicolás Maduro in Caracas

02:03to discuss deportations and hostages.

02:06This gives people like Ronald little hope for change.

02:09Although he fears being sent back,

02:11he remains optimistic.

02:15I don't think it will come to that.

02:17I believe common sense will prevail in the US,

02:19and they'll evaluate these cases.

02:22If not, it would be an economic loss for the United States.

02:27Meanwhile, he and thousands of Venezuelans

02:29await an official decision on their future.

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