US business owners are confused about Venezuelan employees with temporary status
DORAL Fla AP As a business owner in the largest Venezuelan area in the United States Wilmer Escaray is stressed and in shock He is unsure what approaches he should take after the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants Escaray owns restaurants and three markets the majority of them in Doral a city of in the Miami area people known as Little Venezuela or Doralzuela At least of Escaray s employees and numerous of his customers are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status also known as TPS The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge s ruling that had paused the administration s plans to end TPS for Venezuelans potentially exposing them to deportation The Department of Homeland Protection welcomed the ruling but has given no details on when TPS is ending and what employers and beneficiaries should do The Trump Administration does not rest on its laurels We will act in an expeditious manner Tricia McLaughlin Homeland Prevention assistant secretary revealed Tuesday in a written response to questions about any expiration date for TPS after the court ruling and whether work permits were still valid Like a large number of U S business owners with Venezuelan employees Escaray does not know how long his employees will have legal authorization to work or whether he will be able to help them The impact for the business will be really hard explained Escaray a -year-old Venezuelan American who came to the U S to analysis in and opened his first restaurant six years later I don t know yet what I am going to do I have to discuss with my unit with my family to see what will be the plan TPS allows people already in the U S to legally live and work here because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural accident or civil strife The Trump administration revealed immigrants were poorly vetted after the Biden administration dramatically expanded the designation Immigration attorney Evelyn Alexandra Batista mentioned the Supreme Court did not specifically address TPS-based work permits and particular work authorizations remain in effect She warned though that there is no guarantee that they will remain valid because the Supreme Court could change this This means that employers and employees alike should be exploring all other alternative options as TPS was never meant to be permanent mentioned Batista who has received hundreds of calls from TPS beneficiaries and companies looking for advice in the months since Trump returned to office and began his immigration crackdown Among the options they are exploring she declared are visas for people with extraordinary abilities for people who make investments and for agricultural workers Various TPS holders have requested asylum or other immigration benefits It s not clear if people with pending requests will be allowed to stay in the U S Venezuela President Nicol s Maduro on Tuesday condemned the withdrawal of TPS for Venezuelan immigrants TPS was a minimal protection they had Now it s been taken away from them Maduro revealed in a televised establishment event The American Business Immigration Coalition estimates that TPS holders add billion to the U S commercial sector through wages and spending power There are no specific estimates of the impact of Venezuelans although they make up the largest percentage of TPS beneficiaries They work in hospitality construction agriculture wellness care retail and food services This decision leaves business owners with limited options explained Rebecca Shi CEO of the coalition The concerns go beyond Doral William Paredes arrived at the U S in and now owns a window tinting business that employs four other Venezuelans in Tampa about miles kilometers northwest of Miami He does not know what is next and he has no plan This is my and my family s economic endorsement Paredes stated I m leaving everything in God s hands because if I think about it I get depressed We re in limbo He and his wife and son now came to the U S on tourist visas and soon requested asylum He lost his asylum episode but thought he was shield from deportation as a TPS holder His -year-old daughter was born in the U S and is an American citizen Paredes was a police officer in his home country and left after receiving threats for working as a protection guard for a mayor who opposed the ruling socialist party He noted he cannot go back I m too scared and just thinking that they might send me back to Venezuela gives me goose bumps Paredes mentioned Escaray the restaurant owner announced he hopes to find a legal pathway so his Venezuelan employees can keep working for him If not he disclosed he might have to fire them I want to keep them to work with us But we have to respect the law
