Miami’s ‘Little Venezuela’ fears Trump’s moves against migration
U.S. citizens who immigrated from Venezuela between 16 and 30 years ago play dominos outside El Arepazo, a restaurant that is a hub of the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., in Doral, Fla., Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Cesar Mena, at right, voted for President Donald Trump and continues to support him. “I have family and friends on TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and I feel bad for them. But it’s a temporary situation, and you need to resolve the problem.” (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
Since Feb. 3, the Trump administration ended two federal programs that together allowed more 700,000 Venezuelans to live and work legally in the U.S. It’s all anyone discusses in Doral, Florida, the largest Venezuelan community in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people dread what could face them if lawsuits against the government fail. They would have to remain illegally at the risk of being deported or return home, an unlikely route given the political and economic turmoil in Venezuela. A federal judge ordered last month that temporary protected status would stand until a legal challenge’s next stage in court. At least 350,000 Venezuelans were temporarily spared becoming illegal.
Maria, a Venezuelan immigrant who lives with her U.S. citizen husband and two daughters who have Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, vacuums a rug as the family organizes and packs for their upcoming move into a larger and nicer apartment, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Maria, a Venezuelan immigrant who lives with her U.S. citizen husband and two daughters who have Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, vacuums a rug as the family organizes and packs for their upcoming move into a larger and nicer apartment, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People who lose their protections would have to remain illegally at the risk of being deported or return home, an unlikely route given the political and economic turmoil in Venezuela.
A 9-year-old girl with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who was born in Venezuela, but who fluently speaks only English and is in the gifted program at her school, watches TV in her family’s apartment, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A 9-year-old girl with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who was born in Venezuela, but who fluently speaks only English and is in the gifted program at her school, watches TV in her family’s apartment, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A 9-year-old girl with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who was born in Venezuela, but who fluently speaks only English and is in the gifted program at her school, watches TV in her family’s apartment, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A 9-year-old girl with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who was born in Venezuela, but who fluently speaks only English and is in the gifted program at her school, watches TV in her family’s apartment, April 5, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
In the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people dread what could face them if lawsuits that aim to stop the government fail. It’s all anyone discusses in “Little Venezuela” or “Doralzuela,” a city of 80,000 people surrounded by Miami sprawl, freeways and the Florida Everglades.
Venezuelan stickers and specialty products are sold alongside more typical offerings in a gas station shop in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuelan stickers and specialty products are sold alongside more typical offerings in a gas station shop in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A sweet scent wafts from round, flat cornmeal arepas sold at many establishments. Stores at gas stations sell flour and white cheese used to make arepas and T-shirts and hats with the yellow, blue and red stripes of the Venezuelan flag.
Patrons eat inside one of the locations of Sabor Venezolano owned by Wilmer Escaray, who operates a dozen businesses that hire Venezuelan migrants like he once was, in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Patrons eat inside one of the locations of Sabor Venezolano owned by Wilmer Escaray, who operates a dozen businesses that hire Venezuelan migrants like he once was, in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
“It’s really quite unfortunate to lose that human capital because there are people who do work here that other people won’t do,” Escaray, 37, said at one of his “Sabor Venezolano” restaurants.
Yrene Bruno works inside her franchise of “Sabor Venezolano,” selling Venezuelan food and treats, in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Yrene Bruno works inside her franchise of “Sabor Venezolano,” selling Venezuelan food and treats, in Doral, Fla., April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The mayor of Doral, home to a Trump golf club since 2012, wrote a letter to the president asking him to find a legal pathway for Venezuelans who haven’t committed crimes.
“These families do not want handouts,” said Christi Fraga, a daughter of Cuban exiles. “They want an opportunity to continue working, building, and investing in the United States.”
Alvaro Duran Stella, 47, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who studied to become a paralegal and now works in Doral, Fla., on immigration application cases for other migrants, walks back to his apartment after working remotely in his community’s clubhouse, April 5, 2025, in Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Alvaro Duran Stella, 47, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who studied to become a paralegal and now works in Doral, Fla., on immigration application cases for other migrants, walks back to his apartment after working remotely in his community’s clubhouse, April 5, 2025, in Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Reinaldo Schanz, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen who emmigrated from Venezuela at age 2, practices moves on his rollerblades after finishing work as a park service aide in Doral Central Park, April 2, 2025, in Doral, Fla. Schanz said his family supports the administration going after migrants with criminal records, but was surprised to see people on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and similar programs targeted as well. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Reinaldo Schanz, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen who emmigrated from Venezuela at age 2, practices moves on his rollerblades after finishing work as a park service aide in Doral Central Park, April 2, 2025, in Doral, Fla. Schanz said his family supports the administration going after migrants with criminal records, but was surprised to see people on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and similar programs targeted as well. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Gabriela Osuna, right, a 23-year-old Venezuelan immigrant with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who co-founded a successful artists collective that produces art events, takes a selfie with her girlfriend Vanessa Sanchez Montero, 29, also originally from Venezuela, at a bar in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Gabriela Osuna, right, a 23-year-old Venezuelan immigrant with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, who co-founded a successful artists collective that produces art events, takes a selfie with her girlfriend Vanessa Sanchez Montero, 29, also originally from Venezuela, at a bar in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People wear virtual reality headsets as they immerse themselves in “Teleport to Venezuela,” a 35-minute VR documentary by Noa Iimura exploring life in Venezuela, as the film’s national and European tour kicks off in the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People wear virtual reality headsets as they immerse themselves in “Teleport to Venezuela,” a 35-minute VR documentary by Noa Iimura exploring life in Venezuela, as the film’s national and European tour kicks off in the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People wear virtual reality headsets as they immerse themselves in “Teleport to Venezuela,” a 35-minute VR documentary by Noa Iimura exploring life in Venezuela, as the film’s national and European tour kicks off in the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People wear virtual reality headsets as they immerse themselves in “Teleport to Venezuela,” a 35-minute VR documentary by Noa Iimura exploring life in Venezuela, as the film’s national and European tour kicks off in the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., in Doral, Fla., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Salomon es una periodista que desde Miami cubre asuntos latinoamericanos y de inmigracion.