Venezuelan expats who supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election campaign are outraged that his government has removed restrictions that safeguard hundreds of thousands of them from deportation.
According to NPR, the Venezuelan immigrant community is deeply disillusioned after the Trump administration rescinded Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan refugees who are legally resident in the United States.
Although the Trump administration claims that the program has been misused to bring criminals into the United States, many members of the community believe the administration is simply lying.
Adelys Ferro, director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, tells NPR that many of her fellow Venezuelan immigrants feel “beyond betrayed” by the action.
“They used us,” she explained. “During the campaign, elected Republican Party officials told us that he would not touch the documented citizens. They said, “No, it’s with undocumented people.”
Carlos Pereira, a Venezuelan-American living in Doral, Florida, told NPR that the attempt to remove TPS is causing people to fear.
“They’re scared,” he said, adding that it would be a “tragedy” to revoke people’s protected status and return them to the nation they left.
Pereira also chastised Republican legislators who generally speak out against the Venezuelan government for remaining mute as Trump negotiates with leader Nicolas Maduro.
“They always speak out strongly against the Maduro dictatorship. Now that Papi Trump is negotiating with Maduro, they shut their mouth?”
