For years thousands of Venezuelans without legal status in the United States they expected some sort of migratory relief. Now that it has finally reached them, they receive him with cautious optimism and confusion. Instead of partying, many feel uncertainty.
Venezuelans were included in a decree that former President Donald Trump issued hours before leaving the White House and that suspends his deportation, But they have doubts because the tycoon is no longer the president and the information in the document is scarce.
“It ‘s very early for to celebrate“We don’t know the details,” complained Mariana Molero, a Venezuelan who came to the United States with her husband in 2005 and has since been unable to regularize their legal status. Both her husband and she have a deportation order.
Wouldn’t they be more protected if new President Joe Biden keeps his promise to grant them temporary legal status? It is the question many ask.
Before leaving the White House, Donald Trump surprisingly suspended with a decree the deportations of Venezuelan immigrants. Photo: AFP
Hours before the end of his presidency, Trump ordered the suspension for 18 months of the deportations of Venezuelans who fled their country and failed to obtain political asylum or legal status in the United States. The measure, which according to some activists would benefit about 200,000 people who fled the crisis in the Caribbean country, authorizes them must also apply for a work permit.
However, it must be implemented by the administration of Biden, a strong critic of Trump, whom he defeated at the polls. It is also one little used mechanism, So it also puzzled some lawyers, who are waiting for more specific guidelines.
“Everyone walks like confused“Immigration lawyer Adriana Kostencki said of Trump’s move.” It is recommended to wait and see how the immigration authorities implement it, “he added, after assuring that he has no doubt that since the decree was issued on Tuesday, Venezuelans can no longer be expelled.
Joe Biden’s stance
Biden, in turn, has promised Venezuelans a temporary protection status known as TPS, which in addition to authorizing them to work in some cases could pave the way for them to a residency, unlike the Trump decree.
The new president also decreed a brake for 100 days on the deportation of immigrants who are illegally in the country, including Venezuelans, and is encouraging a migration reform plan that should be approved by Congress.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about how they will implement the Trump decree or whether they will issue more details.
Joe Biden is pushing for extensive immigration reform, but it is unclear what will happen to undocumented Venezuelans in the United States. Photo: AP
Venezuela has been immense for years in a deep political, economic and social crisis that has led to the departure of more than five million people to other countries, according to United Nations estimates.
About 400,000 Venezuelans live in the United States, and about 192,000 of them have no legal status. according to the Center for Migration Studies in New York.
Molero, a lawyer who came to the United States on a tourist visa and lives in the south of the state of Florida, fears that Trump’s move will not benefit her or her husband, although both have orders to deportation.
“There is a discrepancy in how it is interpreted,” said the woman, the mother of two boys born in the United States. “There is uncertainty … Instead of giving myself peace of mind I have to wait for the TPS to be clarified or signed,” he said.
In New York, Kamal Morales is encouraged by Trump’s “gift.”
“No one expected it, that at the last minute (Trump) could do something for us Venezuelans,” said the 35-year-old migrant who crossed the border into the United States from Mexico in March 2019. “The decree is a relief for me. I have as much time to acquire or obtain some status then,” he said.
However, Morales is also confused and wonders if his deportation would really be eliminated.
A hairdresser by profession, Morales arrived in the United States in 2019 and left a detention center in Colorado in January 2020. A deportation order is now hanging over him. He is exploring his options with lawyers but is due to appear before the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in August. His asylum order, made when he was in custody, was denied.
Expelled and arrested
Nearly 900 Venezuelans have been deported since 2018, About 200 of them in the last year, according to the Immigration and Customs Police, known as ICE by its English name. About 233 remain detained.
About 11,000 are in the process of deportation, according to the database of Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research group at Syracuse University in New York.
Of the 8,676 cases of asylum that Venezuelans have in the United States, 832 were denied in fiscal year 2020, according to TRAC.
Carlos Vecchio, whom the opposition leader Juan Guaidó appointed ambassador to Venezuela and was recognized as such by this country, wants to bring peace to his community.
“These are positive measures that will impact Venezuelans,” Vecchio said in a recent telephone interview with the AP news agency, in which he noted that the priority is Venezuelan prisoners.
He said his team has already contacted the Biden government to see how they implement the Trump decree, and that he also expects the TPS to be approved soon.
“What we have heard benefits them, and what will come is better,” he said after stressing that the new Democratic president is well aware of the situation in Venezuela and “has a great opportunity” to push for change in Venezuela.
By Gisela Salomon and Claudia Torrens, The Associated Press
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