Venezuelans in the US are torn between joy and worry

NEW YORK — In the days since the Trump administration ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a late-night military raid, Alejandra Salima has spoken to fellow Venezuelan migrants in her role as an advocate. Like her, most voice feelings that seesaw between joy and trepidation, she said. The removal of Maduro is "a first step, but we're nervous," said Salima, who fled to the U.S. three years ago with her 7-year-old son and assists other Venezuelans at the Miami office of the National TPS Alliance. With the regime that Maduro led still in place, "at this moment, returning would put me and my son at risk," she said. For more than 770,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., reactions to Trump's forceful moves in the country they left behind — and the one that has taken them in — are as intense as they are complicated. Many are thrilled by the removal of Maduro, who harassed and jailed political opponents while presiding over an economic collapse, driving millions of Venezuelans from the country. But as they try to figure out what's next for them and for families and friends still in Venezuela, many share Salima's conflicted feelings. The Trump administration's move to deport Venezuelans without permanent residency has increased worry. Many were allowed to stay in the U.S. after they were granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, a designation Trump revoked after taking office. At the same time, the fear instilled by the government Maduro left behind makes many wary of returning. "First, they grabbed Maduro, and I feel happy, happy, happy, grateful to the Trump administration," said Manuel Coronel, a lawyer who left Venezuela in 2017 and now lives just north of Salt Lake City. But he worries the change will be too limited. "They got him, but the criminals are still there," said Coronel, who is 54 and works at an immigration law practice. "There's no new government. Everything's exactly the same." No rush to return The tensions belie assurances by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who asserted that "overwhelmingly the Venezuelans that I've heard from or talked to are excited about the changes." "They have more opportunities to go back to their country and have it be more successful and provide for their families today than they did a week ago when Maduro was still in charge," Noem said last week. But in interviews with Venezuelans who live in communities around the U.S. there was little indication of a rush to return. "Thank God we're here," said José Luis Rojas, who ended up in New York City after fleeing the Venezuela capital of Caracas in 2018. Rojas, 31, recounted how Venezuela's hyperinflation, which topped 1 million percent the year he fled, made it impossible to buy essentials like diapers after his partner became pregnant. They went first to Ecuador then Peru, but left to escape crime, joining thousands of Venezuelans who migrated on foot through the jungle of Panama's Darién Gap. Since the couple and their son arrived in the U.S., Rojas has obtained political asylum, a work permit and a driver's license. In an interview this week at a Venezuelan restaurant on a New York City street lined with immigrant-run businesses, Rojas welcomed the toppling of Maduro "so there can be change in Venezuela, because many people are struggling." But he expressed doubt about the Trump administration's tightened policies on Venezuelans in the U.S. that have already pushed a number of his friends to leave for countries in South America and elsewhere. For Venezuelans in the U.S., Trump has "done good things and he's done bad things," said Rojas as he and his wife tucked into the restaurant's $30 special: a heaping platter of fried potatoes, cassava, corn cakes, sausages, beef, chicken, plantains, fried pork rinds and cheese. "It all depends on your point of view." New lives in the US About 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country over the past decade, with the great majority landing elsewhere in Latin America. Hundreds of thousands have made their way to the U.S., with large numbers settling in suburban communities like Kissimmee, Florida, outside Orlando, and Herriman, Utah, outside Salt Lake City. Venezuelans quickly became among the largest nationalities to immigrate to the U.S. after COVID-19, lured in part by job prospects. The Biden administration offered new or expanded temporary legal protections, largely ended by Trump after he took office. Hundreds of thousands more were released in the United States after entering illegally from Mexico to pursue asylum or other forms of relief in immigration court. For people like Jesus Martinez, who fled to the U.S. in 2021 after facing physical threats and persecution, "life in Venezuela is behind us." Martinez, who now lives with his wife and children in Orem, Utah, and has applied for political asylum, recalled how life in Venezuela had become intolerable. While it is a relief that Maduro has been removed, he said, the Trump administration's push to send Venezuelans back to a country whose government they still deeply distrust presents a paradox. "It's obviously a contradictory situation," said Martinez, 50. He noted that it will take considerable time before loyalists to Maduro are rooted out and Venezuela can make a transition to a stable democracy. Reservations about going back Salima, 48, who works in the Miami advocacy office, was active in opposition politics in Venezuela, where she trained as a lawyer and marched in peaceful protests. She came to the U.S. legally with her son, who is now 10 years old, on a temporary permit for humanitarian reasons, which Trump has revoked. She is elated by Maduro's ouster. But those feelings are tempered by her unease over Venezuela's future while his allies are still in power. Her mother remains in Venezuela and, even with Maduro gone, she refuses to discuss politics during chats on an encrypted app, fearful that government authorities who remain in power will find out, Salima said. With that reality still in place, the pending end of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans makes her feel "very unstable," Salima said. Asking for a choice Rallying with other Venezuelans this week in Doral, Florida, to celebrate Maduro's ouster, Jorge Galicia recounted fleeing in 2018 after a fellow student activist was arrested during a wave of demonstrations against the regime. After settling in the Miami area, Galicia said he joined Charlie Kirk's conservative Turning Point USA movement, whose politics closely align with Trump's. But Galicia, 30, said his support for the Trump administration began to waver as the White House's crackdown on immigrants intensified, breaking up families. Now, with Maduro gone, he expects many of the Venezuelans who fled to neighboring countries and the U.S. to start returning home. But he hopes Trump will reconsider his decision to deport Venezuelans like himself who have built new lives in the U.S. but still lack permanent status. "The reason we're here is because there was a horrible regime that forced millions of us to leave," said Galicia, wrapped in a Venezuelan flag. But, he said, "everyone deserves to have the choice of returning home." —- Associated Press writers Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas; Josh Goodman in Doral, Florida; Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.