00:00Ronald BallorĂn arrived in Florida six years ago.
00:02He left his native Venezuela at short notice.
00:06There he was a well-known university professor
00:08and a columnist for a local newspaper.
00:11But his criticism of Nicolás Maduro's government
00:13made him a target of the regime.
00:15The police arrested me in 2012.
00:19I was accused of something.
00:20No one knows who did it because they never showed me the complaint.
00:23I was taken to a cell for about 10 minutes.
00:26When the officer realized who I was, he said,
00:28what are you doing here? Let's get you out.
00:30Later on, his office was raided and ransacked by the police.
00:34That's when he decided to leave immediately
00:36for the United States with his family,
00:39without telling them what was happening.
00:42I brought them here as a surprise,
00:44as if it were my wife's birthday present.
00:47When we arrived, I showed her all the evidence.
00:49When you emigrate to another country at short notice,
00:52you take practically nothing.
00:53Here in the city of Doral,
00:55he has built his own maintenance business.
00:57He says he feels fully integrated,
00:59but now faces deportation when his Temporary Protected Status,
01:03or TPS, expires in September,
01:05and his asylum requests have been repeatedly denied.
01:10I hired a law firm.
01:11It cost me $7,000, so I don't trust lawyers.
01:16Doral is home to thousands of Venezuelans,
01:18many of them with TPS.
01:20It has allowed them to work, create businesses,
01:22and start a new life here.
01:24Now that President Trump has removed it,
01:26many don't know what's going to happen.
01:29Stories like Ronald's come in daily to local NGOs.
01:32Helen Villalonga has spent 18 years
01:34helping Venezuelans in the region.
01:35Now they have filed a lawsuit to extend the protection,
01:39arguing they cannot return.
01:42We still have the same regime,
01:43the same dictator aggressively attacking dissidents.
01:47But we also have people like the current president
01:50of the United States,
01:52who, although he says he will not have relations
01:54with that regime,
01:55sends envoys who shake hands with them.
01:59In January, Trump representatives met
02:02with Nicolás Maduro in Caracas
02:03to discuss deportations and hostages.
02:06This gives people like Ronald little hope for change.
02:09Although he fears being sent back,
02:11he remains optimistic.
02:15I don't think it will come to that.
02:17I believe common sense will prevail in the US,
02:19and they'll evaluate these cases.
02:22If not, it would be an economic loss for the United States.
02:27Meanwhile, he and thousands of Venezuelans
02:29await an official decision on their future.
Comments