Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on February 1 that the Donald Trump administration would terminate the 2023 designation of Venezuelans for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), setting April 7 as the end date for those reached by the program. With the decision, nearly 350,000 Venezuelans who obtained work permits through that measure are set to lose the protections and could be deported after. Further hundreds of thousands who got the benefit in 2021 could face the same fate in September.
DHS said the situation in Venezuela has improved as of late, suggesting that conditions for protections are no longer applicable. "There are notable improvements in several areas such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned to their home country," says the notice filed in the Federal Register
"I completely disagree with the Secretary of Homeland Security," said City of Doral Mayor Christi Fraga to The Latin Times in an exclusive interview. "There is no evidence that conditions in Venezuela have improved. On the contrary, I believe they have worsened."
"The perfect example of this was the outcome of the July 28 elections, where the people's voice was not respected and democracy was disregarded. Maduro is an usurper and must step down to allow the rightful president of Venezuela, Edmundo González Urrutia, to take office. That is the number one piece of evidence that conditions in Venezuela have not improved," she said.
Fraga is not opposed to Trump's deportation operation and blames the Biden administration for "allowing anyone to enter the border without knowing who they were," claiming Trump is working toward "protecting our border and American families."
However, as the mayor of the largest Venezuelan community in the country and the daughter of Cuban immigrants herself, Fraga is defending the right of many Venezuelans to remain in the country, going as far as to reach out to the president himself through a series of letters posted on her Instagram account.
They explain that "many TPS holders are not part of this crisis," urging Trump to "consider a solution that allows for proper vetting and accountability while providing a pathway for those who have followed the rules and wish to remain lawful contributors to our nation."
"It is important to bring recognition to those cases—people who have been productive members of our society and who came here with a status, with a visa. These are not people who entered illegally. They are people who came with legal status and obtained TPS because it was a vehicle the government allowed them to use for temporary status," Fraga told The Latin Times.
The mayor went on to say that she believes there should be a "review" of TPS applications. "There has to be some kind of measure, some kind of mechanism, because there are many families experiencing great anxiety. I empathize with them because they don't know what will happen next and they don't want to be here illegally. These are people who work, pay taxes, and know no other home but the United States," she said.
Fraga is not alone in her assessment. Different Florida politicians, whose constituents include scores of Venezuelans, have also spoken against the TPS suspension in the last few days. In a bipartisan resolution, the Miami-Dade County Commission urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to restore Temporary Protected Status protections to immigrants, claiming the measure will create "unnecessary instability for families and businesses."
Fraga said she has had conversations with federal lawmakers and "they are all working in Washington on a new mechanism that would give Venezuelans the ability to apply for that temporary status while a long-term solution is determined." She did clarify that she can't "guarantee anything" because she is not a federal legislator, but "what we can do is help advocate for those people we know are part of our community, who are productive members of our society, and that is who we want to protect."
"Doral is a perfect example of people who have made a community their home, who have been part of society, who have gotten involved, and we've always been inviting, encouraging them to follow the laws and the order. I think we can all agree that people who do not follow our laws, who are not productive members of society, and who entered illegally should be removed," Fraga added.
The mayor finished by speaking from a personal point of view and as a Latina, describing the issue as a "matter of empathy." "I could tell you thousands of stories from Doral, specific examples of people who know no other home, who have children that came here as toddlers and are now pre-teens, who arrived with a visa and later applied for TPS, and who now feel betrayed. But they also feel persecuted. They feel like they are all being painted with the same broad brush."
"This causes them a great deal of anxiety, and that makes me sad because these are people who have helped develop the community I currently lead. There are many stories of people whom I believe it would be inhumane to send back to Venezuela given the conditions in the country. They would like to return one day, just like we Cubans would," she added.
She concluded by claiming she deems it important to use her voice, "just as I used it to promote the Republican platform which I believe in." "This is part of that platform because I believe we must fight against the conditions of the dictatorship in Venezuela. We have to address the root problem, but until Maduro is gone, we cannot allow certain people—who do not deserve this kind of treatment—to be treated this way."
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