BAD NEWS FOR VENEZUELANS, TRUMP CANCELS TPS EXTENSION

On January 29th, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of TPS for Venezuelans whose extension was approved by Biden before he left the White House in January. The Department of Homeland Security announced the cancellation of TPS for more than 600,000 Venezuelans. TPS protects beneficiaries from deportation and grants them permission to work legally in the United States.

The new Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota, confirmed the cancellation in an interview (they have not yet said anything about TPS for Salvadorans, which was also extended by Biden).

LAWSUIT TO STOP THE CANCELLATION

This decision takes effect immediately, but lawyers and immigrant rights advocates will surely file a lawsuit against this cancellation to defend the Venezuelans. Affected Venezuelans should remain calm, wait to see what happens in the courts, not leave the country and should continue to work with their work permits while we await the court's decision. Many Venezuelans also have pending asylum cases that they should continue with and those who have not applied and qualify should do so immediately, preferably within a year of their arrival.

This is obviously another of Trump's anti-immigrant plans to harm immigrants. Something curious is that according to the polls, most of the Venezuelans who arrived years ago and are now US citizens, many of whom live in Florida and Texas, voted for Trump because he is supposedly against communism without thinking about how it would affect their own fellow countrymen.

If you are one of the Venezuelans affected, it is important that you speak to your lawyer. We will continue to monitor what happens, but unfortunately they will not be able to send more TPS renewals for now.

THE NEW MADNESS IS THAT TRUMP HAS ANNOUNCED THAT HE WILL USE THE GUANTÁNAMO BASE IN CUBA TO IMPRISON UP TO 30,000 IMMIGRANTS

Trump said that they are going to set up up to 30,000 beds at the US-controlled section of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, supposedly to hold the worst illegal foreign criminals who threaten the United States. This would be the first time that Guantánamo has been used to detain people for immigration purposes; previously it was used to detain people accused of terrorism, especially after September 11th.

Trump said that most of the people they will send are so bad that we cannot trust that even their own countries will take them in, I don't know if he means that they will keep them indefinitely until their countries decide to receive them. It is also a place from which it is difficult to escape, the Trumpers are obviously using every means to attack immigrants, we do not know when they will start sending people.

Some critics say it will be like a concentration camp where people can stay there suffering for years, this plan will also have legal challenges, it is another example of the evil and hatred of the Trumpists.

GRAND RAPIDS CITIZENS SUPPORT IMMIGRANTS

I would like to thank and congratulate the more than 100 people who attended the meeting of the Grand Rapids city commission in support of it being designated a sanctuary city. Almost 90% of the people spoke in favor of immigrants and demanded that the city support them, many of them North Americans, not immigrants, including teachers and religious people who spoke of the need to protect immigrants and for Grand Rapids to continue being a diverse and multicultural city.

The mayor of Grand Rapids, lawyer David LaGrand, apparently welcomed the comments of the people at the meeting, which I also attended to show my support. The designation of sanctuary city has not yet been officially decided.

For now, they will continue with the pro-immigrant policies passed in 2017 during Trump's first term in office, which require that Grand Rapids police should not work with ICE officers and should not ask for the immigration status of the people they encounter in their police work. It is important that we continue to support immigrants, especially in the face of the current attacks.

IMMIGRATION OPERATIVES IN MICHIGAN SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE

People with records, recent deportation orders and who have been deported and returned to the United States without permission. They are not detaining people in general.

It is important to explain that although ICE is active in Michigan as in all other states searching for and detaining immigrants as part of Trump's program to intimidate the immigrant community, you should also understand that they are looking for specific people who, according to the Trumpers, are people with serious criminal offenses, but we know of several cases of people who do not have criminal cases, but have deportation orders or have stayed longer than allowed if they entered with a permit.

It is important that you know your rights, such as that they should not be allowed into your home without an authorization signed by a judge You should not panic You should send your children to school. If you or a relative is detained by immigration, you have the right, as in most cases, to request a hearing and to be released on parole, although it will be more difficult than before.

To find out more about your case and your immigration options, especially if you think you may be on a deportation list, it is important that you consult a lawyer. You can call us on 616-235-4577.