CHICAGO — For the past two years, Carlos Carpio has been building a life for himself in the city he now loves, Chicago. He worked in a factory, rented an apartment and made friends. He goes to church every Sunday and is part of the community here.
But Mr. Carpio remains in Venezuela as a Venezuelan immigrant on a temporary legal status, but this week Donald Trump took office as president and followed through on his campaign promise to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. That stability was shattered when he became president.
Carpio, 50, said: “I have great fear of what Mr. Trump has said and what he is doing now.I have been in fear since the day Mr. Trump became president.” I’m living,” he said.
Carpio is one of about 1 million people in this country who have Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which gives them the right to temporarily stay in the United States because of civil war or natural disaster in their home country. His protection was set to expire in April, but earlier this month the Biden administration extended protection for people in Ukraine, Sudan, Venezuela and El Salvador for an additional 18 months.
The TPS program has been used by administrations since George HW Bush. TPS patients have no path to legal residency, the precursor to citizenship, without leaving the country.
In Monday’s executive action, President Trump called for a review of TPS and for federal officials to consider whether the program is “appropriately limited in scope.” Even in his first administration, President Trump made it a goal to end TPS for some countries, with most of the program’s countries recovering from related disasters and conflicts and their status being renewed for years beyond their needs. He claimed that he had been.
“We are all afraid.”
Venezuelan immigrants at TPS told NBC News that their lives are ruled by fear. Others said they wanted to focus on living one day at a time, but were extremely afraid that they would eventually be ordered to return to their home countries.
“I feel like everything I’ve done here doesn’t mean anything. I’m very sad and frustrated,” Carpio said.
President Trump will face legal challenges if he repeals TPS. He also could decline to extend those protections beyond the 18-month extension ordered by Biden, potentially leaving people like Carpio subject to deportation. Complicating matters, Venezuela is currently not accepting deportees from the United States.
Carpio withdrew from his once vibrant life. Now, every day is filled with fear and anxiety. He prays that strangers will not knock on his door. He said he used to enjoy hanging out with friends or running errands after work, but now he “always goes straight home” and avoids taking the train or bus. They now carry all their documents with them wherever they go.
When she had to go to the bank this week, Carpio said she looked over her shoulder, counting the seconds and trying to get home as soon as possible. He stocked up on groceries before the inauguration, hoping to delay the next time he had to go shopping.
In the factory where he works, there are constant whispers about what President Trump is doing and what he will do next.
Even the church is no longer safe. He and his friends are worried about going to regular Sunday services after the Trump administration announced it would end a long-standing policy that prevented federal immigration authorities from arresting immigrants at churches, schools and hospitals. .
“We’re all afraid. We all have that fear and anxiety,” he said.
live in limbo
Daisy, a 36-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who has lived in Chicago for about two years, said the city has changed her life for the better. He said he was grateful for that.
“I feel like this is my home. I love Chicago,” said Daisy, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of immigrant retaliation. “This is where I want to be.”
She also told TPS that she has been feeling “distressed” since seeing President Trump’s executive orders on immigration. She hopes to return to the calm and safe state she felt before this week.
“I was scared and didn’t want to go outside. I was really scared to go to work. I’ve been praying to God to help me get through it,” she said.
Daisy said she was “very confused” by all the changes to immigration policy and was “constantly questioning” whether she was safe. Her life revolves around commuting from home to work as colleagues warn other immigrants to stay home.
“We’re not going to go out and do a lot of the things we choose to do,” she said. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what to think.”
Some immigrants take a different approach, not letting fear control their lives and living each day with the understanding that they are in the United States with legal, if temporary, status for the time being. He says he will live day by day.
Giovani Jimenez, a TPS Venezuelan immigrant and asylum seeker, said she has spent her time in Chicago assisting other immigrants by preparing legal documents such as asylum applications and work permits. . He has lived in the city for about three years.
Jimenez, 43, has turned his apartment into an office for clients. The door is covered with red wrapping paper with white and green flowers and a red ribbon. An open Bible and a crucifix sit on a small table near the living room area where Jimenez greets customers. There was a Christmas tree nearby this week as well.
He sits across from a desk covered with a red and white tablecloth and poinsettias. Behind him are certificates and diplomas dating back to his days as a biology professor in Venezuela.
Jimenez said he knows the government “must regulate the channels necessary for migrants to seek relief, protection and asylum,” adding, “We continue to contribute to our communities and this I look forward to being given the opportunity to contribute to the development of society.” country. “
Jimenez said he fled Venezuela because of political persecution and threats to his life. “Otherwise I wouldn’t exist anymore,” he said.
For immigrants like him, “we can’t afford to panic. We have to have firm beliefs about what we want to do here in Chicago, and we’re doing things the right way legally.” If so, you don’t have to be so afraid.”
He said he expects President Trump to focus on deporting criminals and threats to national and public safety.
“I put it in God’s hands,” he added. “We are ready to continue operating legally.”
What keeps Jimenez awake at night is the fear that he might one day be ordered to return to Venezuela.
Jimenez said he couldn’t sleep for three days during Venezuela’s presidential election in late July. Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner, but the announcement was condemned globally for a lack of transparency and allegations of election fraud due to a crackdown on opposition forces.
“As for the future, yes, I’m scared. I can’t set foot on Venezuelan soil,” he said, getting emotional. He added that they could be arrested, tortured or killed.
Oscar Peñalver Sánchez, a Venezuelan immigrant who has lived in Chicago for more than two years, said he agrees with President Trump’s plan to deport criminals from the country. He said he believes law-abiding, hard-working immigrants with legal status should not suffer.
“I have nothing to hide,” said Peñalver Sanchez, 46, who also has TPS. “I want to establish myself as an American.”
“I don’t want to live in fear and be stressed all the time, because stress kills you,” he says. “All I can do is keep working and doing the right thing.”
