Doral is a small city in Miami Dade County affectionately known as “Doralzuela” for its large population of Venezuelans. One Sunday evening in April, community members gathered in solidarity to call for bipartisan support for TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, for Venezuelans. This was the day before TPS had been set to expire for about 350,000 Venezuelans, based on a Department of Homeland Security’s termination notice in February. Another 250,000 would have lost their status in September.

Along with seven other plaintiffs and the National TPS Alliance, TPS holder, student, and activist Cecilia González sued the Trump administration for illegally terminating TPS for Venezuelans. Through eight years of waiting on a pending asylum case, Cecilia is grateful for the greater stability and protection TPS has given her. In addition to participating in the legal battle to protect TPS, Cecilia says she is committed to combating the Trump administration’s narrative that all Venezuelans are criminals or gang members.

On March 31, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s termination of TPS, writing that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s rationale for the move “smacks of racism.”

But the legal battle to defend TPS has only just begun. The government is appealing the decision, though their motion to stay the judge’s temporary ruling was denied.

Advocates like Cecilia and Adelys Ferro, Executive Director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, are committed to defending the status and to advocating for long term immigration reform more broadly.

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This episode was produced by Tasha Sandoval and edited by Andrea López-Cruzado. It was mixed by Stephanie Lebow. Fact checking for this episode by Monica Morales-Garcia.

Illustration by Alex Charner.