At least a million Venezuelans have entered the United States under President Biden’s border policies, but some now say they support his rival Donald Trump, who has said he would deport millions like them if he wins re-election.
Unexpected support for former President Trump is being shouted from the digital rooftops of social media.
But there is also bound to be some pushback from those who say immigrants are benefiting from Democrat Joe Biden’s policies, noting that Republican Trump has vowed to end many of those protections if he returns to the White House.
“On day one of my new administration, I will seal the border, stop the invasion of people coming across our border, and send Joe Biden’s illegal immigrants back home where they belong,” Trump promised during a rally in May, according to ABC News.
“They need to be sent home.”
Speaking from his megaphone on social media to his 4.5 million followers, Javier Hala Madrid, a Venezuelan who has lived in the United States for years, mocks Biden supporters and analyzes why he thinks they are wrong to support the incumbent president.
On social media, Venezuelan supporters of Donald Trump are fighting what they call a false narrative that he is anti-immigrant.
“Ask yourself, are you better now or before?” Madrid asked in a May Video Post.
He showed a graph of the consumer price index under Biden and under Trump, showing what he claimed was a better economy during the Trump administration.
Prices have risen sharply since Biden took office, although inflation was already gaining momentum when Trump left office, thanks to the COVID pandemic.
Madrid also pushed against what it called the “false narrative” that the former president is anti-immigrant.
‘Correction: Before leaving office, Donald Trump was the one who authorized protections so that Venezuelans would not be deported and work permits,’ he said.
He was referring to the Deferred Enforced Departure program, DED, which Trump approved in the final days of his first term. Politico reported.
He offered temporary legal status to Venezuelans fleeing the humanitarian crisis caused by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, meaning there would be no deportations and no work permits for those who qualified.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Doral, Florida, on July 9.
Many newcomers to the United States reject liberal ideas, said immigration attorney Rolando Vazquez
A Venezuelan migrant and his wife set up a tent at a makeshift shelter camp on the median strip of Eje Central Avenue in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 18.
“I am pro-immigrant, but I am against illegal immigration,” Madrid added.
He played a video of Trump saying he is against illegal immigration, not legal immigration.
Trump himself married two immigrants: his first wife, Czech Ivana, who died in 2022, and his third wife, Slovenian Melania.
“The problem is that many Hispanics believe the Democrats when they say over and over again: ‘We’re going to have immigration reform. We’re going to have immigration reform.’ They believe it in every election, but they never do it. They lie to you and manipulate you,” said the South American influencer.
“At least the Republicans don’t lie to you. They tell you from the beginning: ‘We’re not going to do immigration reform.’ I’d rather not be lied to.”
Nearly a million Venezuelans have entered the US under Joe Biden’s watch, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Some 820,579 Venezuelan citizens crossed into the United States through the country’s borders, entering illegally, but then immediately sought out Border Patrol agents so they could turn themselves in and file an asylum claim.
Although an unknown number have been deported, the vast majority have been allowed to stay legally while courts have a chance to decide their asylum cases, a process that could take years.
The 820,579 figure also includes Venezuelans who have legally entered the United States through a port of entry with a CBP One appointment, which is the government’s preferred way for migrants traveling to the U.S. southern border to seek asylum.
An additional 106,100 Venezuelans have been granted humanitarian parole under the Biden program, According to the administration.
Trump has indicated that if he wins, he would end nearly all of the programs Biden has offered to Venezuelans seeking asylum — including use of the CBP One app, humanitarian parole for Venezuelans and drop-offs at the border, where migrants enter illegally but turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents so they can file an asylum claim.
Biden’s border policies, which have led to 10 million migrants crossing the U.S. border, an all-time high according to the federal government, are unpopular with migrants, who feel too many people are coming in.
The Texas National Guard conducts an operation using non-lethal weapons, specifically a pepper spray gun, to disperse migrants who are maintaining a camp inside the Rio Grande on the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez,
Migrants trying to enter the United States through a barbed wire fence installed along the Rio Grande are expelled with pepper spray by Texas National Guard agents at the border with Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on May 13.
Venezuelan migrant Naiber Zerpa holds her son Mathias Marquez as they arrive at a temporary camp after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia
“They are the ones who complain about Biden’s policies,” Vázquez joked.
‘My clients say: “Where I live, there are many of the same people who forced us to leave Venezuela. They now live next to us, they are our neighbors. They are ruining our image. They are ruining our reputation, our name.” In reality, open border policies have hurt them.’
Vázquez points to Venezuelans involved in high-profile crimes, such as the two men accused of killing and raping a 12-year-old girl in Houston, as examples of bad actors who should not be allowed into the country.
He believes a Trump presidency would add much-needed filters that good immigrants, who just want to work and follow the law, desire.
“There’s this notion or misconception pushed by the mainstream media that Trump is anti-immigrant… that immigrants wouldn’t align with his policies, but it’s just the opposite,” explained immigration attorney Rolando Vazquez.
The Miami lawyer, known as the ‘Border Angel’ due to his reputation for frequently winning asylum cases for migrants, was born in the United States to Mexican parents.
His wife was born in Venezuela and is now a citizen. Both are staunch Trump supporters and regular guests at Mar-a-Lago.
Immigration attorney Rolando Vazquez (center right) is an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and a frequent guest at Mar-a-logo.
Miami resident Vazquez attends a recent Donald Trump campaign event in South Florida.
“Immigrants tend to be very Christian, conservative, not progressive, and that’s why those ideologies align with the Republican Party,” Vázquez said.
‘Also, the fact that (Trump) is against communism. They are suffering from this political ideology in their home country, that is what has made them flee to the United States.’
Among the lawyer’s hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, he says his clients support Trump even if they can’t vote for him.
Just this week, he put out a last-minute call for volunteers for an event in Doral, Florida, for the Trump campaign.
Even though people had less than 24 hours notice, 60 of his followers signed up to work at Trump’s event.
‘Some of my clients are not eligible to vote, but they can show their support and express it in different ways.’
