by Jacob Rueda
On September 20, the Biden Administration announced they would allow almost 500,000 Venezuelan migrants the right to work legally in the United States. Then, a few weeks after on October 5, the administration announced it would start deporting Venezuelan migrants who they say crossed the border illegally.
Under the Temporary Protected Status or TPS, Venezuelans have the ability to work legally in the United States, provided they arrived before July 31, 2023. But with the decision to deport made in early October, it begs to wonder what will happen to those Venezuelans who are now working under the September decision.
"People ask me, wouldn't the community be worried about these deportations?" said Mayra Molina, a founding member of the Venezuelan Alliance of Utah. "Yeah, for sure."
Despite that, Mayra said that not everyone will be affected equally by the decision to deport, especially if they've been involved in criminal activity. Nevertheless, there is concern that the decision to deport will outweigh the decision to allow Venezuelan immigrants the right to work legally.
"Obviously, we're happy to have that TPS, that new benefit open again," Molina said, "but [the] majority of the population is frustrated." The residency process can be quite long, with some people waiting years to see a judge to approve their application.
With the September decision, it left some Venezuelan migrants wondering if there was a point to going through the process in the first place, especially if some people were being expedited over others.
"'Is it worth it to come here with a VISA? Is it worth it to pay my taxes for [eight to ten] years? Is it worth it to not have any [criminal] record and being a good citizen for this country?' That frustration I can understand," Molina said.
It remains to be seen what effect both decisions will have on Venezuelan migrants in the long run.
See the entire interview with Myra Molina below.
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