Although not all Venezuelans will benefit from the recently announced temporary protected status granted by the Biden administration, many of those arriving in the country in search of a better future are choosing North Texas as the place where they settle and restart their lives.
The number of Venezuelans coming to the U.S. has increased over the last five years due to that country’s economic and political turmoil. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, 6 million Venezuelans have fled their country.
Earlier this month President Joe Biden extended the temporary protected status for Venezuelans who had entered the country before March 8, 2021. This designation doesn’t confer legal status and only offers protection against deportation and a temporary job permit.
But recent arrivals such as the Cuevas family of Lewisville don’t qualify for this benefit and find themselves in a migratory limbo.
Néstor Cuevas along with his wife and three daughters arrived to the U.S. in January after they left their extended family and possessions behind in Barinas, a central state of Venezuela. Cuevas said the family had no choice but to leave because Venezuela could not offer a stable life, and their lives were threatened every day by the growing violence.
According to Human Rights Watch, Venezuela is currently among the countries with the highest murder rates in the world.
Earlier this week, a State Department travel advisory recommended U.S. citizens not travel to Venezuela “due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, and the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens without due process or fair trial guarantees.”
“We had to leave or we were going to get killed,” said Cuevas, 40. “So we decided to get in touch with some acquaintances in Dallas. We packed our stuff, said goodbye to our family, and we told our youngest daughters that we were going on vacation and would be back [to Venezuela] soon.”
On New Year’s Day, they decided to start a new life in a new country.
They arrived in the U.S. after turning themselves in to immigration authorities on Jan. 1 at the border entry point in San Luis, Ariz., which borders San Luis Río Colorado in the Mexican state of Sonora.
They left Venezuela by plane in December and spent three weeks traveling through different states in Mexico. They were joined by Cuevas’ brother and his wife and daughter.
“We bought a vacation package and spent several days in Playa del Carmen. The girls enjoyed the tours and everything, but we were only thinking about getting to the United States,” Cuevas said.
Cuevas and his wife were high school teachers in Venezuela and co-owned an industrial recycling business. He said they decided to leave the country after they were threatened for refusing to pay “monthly fees” to the military.
At the Arizona crossing point, the family applied for political asylum. They went through several Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing centers before being released in Los Angeles.
A few weeks later, they were picked up by an acquaintance at DFW International Airport.
The Cuevas family doesn’t qualify for temporary protected status because of the date on which they entered the country.
“It is what it is. We know we don’t qualify for that program, but it’s a blessing for our fellow Venezuelans. We hope that this administration would extend that designation… so we all can be eligible in the future,” said Cuevas.
A new home
Casa Venezuela Dallas is a nonprofit organization that helps Venezuelans arriving in Dallas-Fort Worth with the immigration process, teaches how the public education system works and helps find jobs.
According to Casa Venezuela, more Venezuelans are choosing to come to the North Texas area instead of South Florida, where most of the Venezuelan diaspora is concentrated. At least 5,580 Venezuelans live in the area, according to the 2019 census community survey, the most recent number.
Casa Venezuela Dallas estimates that there could be more than 18,000 here.
“Before, they would go to Houston, but because this area is cheaper, there’s less competition for jobs and the growth of the metroplex has made Venezuelans come here,” said Carolina Perreira, member of the board of Casa Venezuela Dallas.
Pereira said she increasingly hears stories from Venezuelans who traveled by land to get to the U.S.-Mexico border and surrendered to immigration authorities.
According to Customs and Border Protection, during the 2021 fiscal year there were 48,678 encounters of Venezuelan migrants at the border with Mexico, compared with 2,787 encounters the previous year.
So far in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, there have been 97,696 encounters.
“It’s very different” how they travel now, Pereira said. “Venezuelans would travel with their visas, enter the country legally and simply stay here. But right now, because of the economy over there, it’s almost impossible to buy a plane ticket, apply for a visa and pay for the trip.
“Therefore, more people are traveling by bus from country to country,” she added about a journey that can stretch up to 5,000 miles depending on what roads migrants take.
Waiting for approval
Therry Argüelles, 39, arrived in New Jersey in December 2018 by plane with a tourist visa.
Because Argüelles, from the northern city of Barquisimeto, entered the U.S. before March 8, 2021, he was able to apply for temporary protected status last year.
“They still haven’t approved me. I’ve only received two letters where they’ve told me they’re working on my case, but they don’t say if they accepted or denied me,” said Argüelles.
To support himself and help his parents, Argüelles works as a driver for Uber and Lyft after two years of working for FedEx in Dallas. He’s concerned that a resolution to his case could also delay renewal of his work permit.
Both the Cuevas and Argüelles families would like to return to Venezuela if conditions there improve. But for now, Texas is home.
“We came here to work, to give our daughters a better future and to contribute to this country’s economy. We want to do things the right way, work on whatever is necessary to have an honest life,” Cuevas said.
