Tampa Bay area immigrant youth share concerns about a second Trump term
By Nancy Guan
December 9, 2024 at 5:00 AM EST
President-elect Donald Trump is making immigration law enforcement a priority. Two high school students from immigrant backgrounds are worried while trying to understand all points of view.
Javier, a senior in high school, laughs as he recounts his journey from Venezuela to the United States.
“My dad told me we’re going to Disney (World) again,” he said, “and then we didn’t end up going to Disney. I don’t think they lied to me, but they didn’t straight up tell me we’re going to move to the U.S.”
That was in 2018, when Javier was about 11 years old.
We’re not using Javier’s last name in this story because his family is currently seeking asylum.
Even at a young age, he knew his parents were just trying to protect him. People can be jailed or worse for speaking out against the Venezuelan government, he said, and his parents didn’t want Javier telling friends that they were planning to move out of the country.
“I feel like you have to see both sides to it, and understand, if you were in the shoes of somebody who supported the other side, why do you think they would?”
But now, with a second Trump presidency coming, Javier is wondering if his stay in the U.S. is in jeopardy.
His family was granted Temporary Protected Status, which allows immigrants to live and work in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed unsafe for return.
Trump, who has made immigration law enforcement a cornerstone of his campaign, has talked of scaling back TPS and other programs that give noncitizens protection against deportation.
He's also pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
Questions about how these plans will be carried out remain. Tom Homan, who was selected as Trump's "border czar," has said the administration will focus first on public safety and national security threats.
Also, in an recent interview with NBC, Trump said "I want to be able to work something out" to allow people in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to remain.
But immigrants are already worried about what could happen to them and their families in the next four years.
'Like we don't deserve to be here'
Nicole Lopez, a high school sophomore in Tampa, said she’s concerned for relatives who are new to the country. Many just received their work visas.
“Seeing how hard they worked for it — I don't want all of their work and everything that they did to be for nothing, if that makes sense, just to be sent back and start all over again,” said Lopez.
Nicole Lopez poses outside Armature Works dining hall in Tampa during her school's homecoming dance at the Tampa entertainment area. (1656x2208, AR: 0.75)
Lopez and her family emigrated from Colombia when she was 2 years old amid ongoing armed conflict in the South American country. They’re naturalized U.S. citizens now, and Lopez said she wants the same opportunities for her cousins, aunts and uncles.
“If you were to see my family, you would see that they're hard working, they're determined. They came here from nothing just to get a better life and a better life for their family,” she said.
That’s the message she wants people to hear, instead of the derogatory remarks coming from some politicians.
Lopez said she watched video clips from both presidential candidates leading up to the 2024 election. While she acknowledged that “there wasn’t a perfect candidate,” she didn’t like the way Trump and his supporters talked about immigrants.
A moment that especially irked her was when insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as a “floating island of garbage” during an October Trump rally. The president-elect and other members of the Republican party condemned the joke.
However, Trump has used terms, such as “criminals” and “animals,” to describe some undocumented immigrants for nearly a decade.
Multiple studies show that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crime than native-born U.S. citizens. Still, the anti-immigrant sentiment persists.
Lopez believes that using these "stereotypes" and "focusing on the bad people" is hurtful to the broader immigrant community.
“They act like we’re not people, too, and like we don’t deserve to be here," she said.
READ MORE: Two brothers in Tampa share their experience growing up undocumented
Javier said hearing those comments “made him a little sad, because not everybody is bad … they’re painting a bad image of us.”
His family, Javier said, is “doing everything right.” They have TPS documentation, pay taxes, work and abide by the law.
Almost seven years have passed since his family applied for asylum, which, if granted, can provide a pathway to citizenship. But for many, a historic backlog is making the wait long.
“In my case, we [aren’t really] stable because we are not American citizens. We are waiting, just waiting, and see what happens,” said Javier.
'We are here for a reason'
Javier and Nicole couldn’t vote in November's election since they’re not 18 yet, and Javier isn’t a U.S. citizen. But they both stayed up as late as they could to watch the results come in on election night.
“I fell asleep,” Lopez said, “so in the morning, I went on Safari and searched it. I was like, ‘Who won?’”
Even in a divided political atmosphere, Lopez and Javier said they’re trying to understand all points of view.
WUSF's Nancy Guan conducts a Zoom interview with high school students Nicole Lopez and Javier to hear their thoughts on Trump's upcoming 2nd term. Their mentor, Diana Maruri, runs the program La Red Mas, which helps students from Spanish-speaking backgrounds achieve in school. (1163x915, AR: 1.2710382513661203)
“I feel like you have to see both sides to it,” said Lopez, “and understand, if you were in the shoes of somebody who supported the other side, why do you think they would?”
Javier said he thinks the reasons have to do with “keeping things traditional,” though “not everybody is like that.”
Even if he wasn't able to cast a ballot, he understands the reasons behind choosing a particular candidate is complicated. Besides immigration, he's heard a lot of concerns about the economy, a top issue for Trump supporters.
Javier just hopes people can understand where he's coming from as an immigrant.
“We are here for a reason. We're here to work hard, go to school and then be better, and get a better life than what we had back there,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Javier wants to study electrical engineering and “repay his parents for their sacrifices.”
Lopez agreed.
"My parents came here to give me a better life, and my siblings too."
Her dream is to attend the University of South Florida and become a surgeon.
"We're just all here to do the same thing that you guys are doing, just look for better opportunities,” she said, “I’m just looking to give back to my parents after everything that they gave me.”
“My dad told me we’re going to Disney (World) again,” he said, “and then we didn’t end up going to Disney. I don’t think they lied to me, but they didn’t straight up tell me we’re going to move to the U.S.”
That was in 2018, when Javier was about 11 years old.
We’re not using Javier’s last name in this story because his family is currently seeking asylum.
Even at a young age, he knew his parents were just trying to protect him. People can be jailed or worse for speaking out against the Venezuelan government, he said, and his parents didn’t want Javier telling friends that they were planning to move out of the country.
“I feel like you have to see both sides to it, and understand, if you were in the shoes of somebody who supported the other side, why do you think they would?”
But now, with a second Trump presidency coming, Javier is wondering if his stay in the U.S. is in jeopardy.
His family was granted Temporary Protected Status, which allows immigrants to live and work in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed unsafe for return.
Trump, who has made immigration law enforcement a cornerstone of his campaign, has talked of scaling back TPS and other programs that give noncitizens protection against deportation.
He's also pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
Questions about how these plans will be carried out remain. Tom Homan, who was selected as Trump's "border czar," has said the administration will focus first on public safety and national security threats.
Also, in an recent interview with NBC, Trump said "I want to be able to work something out" to allow people in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to remain.
But immigrants are already worried about what could happen to them and their families in the next four years.
'Like we don't deserve to be here'
Nicole Lopez, a high school sophomore in Tampa, said she’s concerned for relatives who are new to the country. Many just received their work visas.
“Seeing how hard they worked for it — I don't want all of their work and everything that they did to be for nothing, if that makes sense, just to be sent back and start all over again,” said Lopez.
Nicole Lopez poses outside Armature Works dining hall in Tampa during her school's homecoming dance at the Tampa entertainment area. (1656x2208, AR: 0.75)
Lopez and her family emigrated from Colombia when she was 2 years old amid ongoing armed conflict in the South American country. They’re naturalized U.S. citizens now, and Lopez said she wants the same opportunities for her cousins, aunts and uncles.
“If you were to see my family, you would see that they're hard working, they're determined. They came here from nothing just to get a better life and a better life for their family,” she said.
That’s the message she wants people to hear, instead of the derogatory remarks coming from some politicians.
Lopez said she watched video clips from both presidential candidates leading up to the 2024 election. While she acknowledged that “there wasn’t a perfect candidate,” she didn’t like the way Trump and his supporters talked about immigrants.
A moment that especially irked her was when insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as a “floating island of garbage” during an October Trump rally. The president-elect and other members of the Republican party condemned the joke.
However, Trump has used terms, such as “criminals” and “animals,” to describe some undocumented immigrants for nearly a decade.
Multiple studies show that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crime than native-born U.S. citizens. Still, the anti-immigrant sentiment persists.
Lopez believes that using these "stereotypes" and "focusing on the bad people" is hurtful to the broader immigrant community.
“They act like we’re not people, too, and like we don’t deserve to be here," she said.
READ MORE: Two brothers in Tampa share their experience growing up undocumented
Javier said hearing those comments “made him a little sad, because not everybody is bad … they’re painting a bad image of us.”
His family, Javier said, is “doing everything right.” They have TPS documentation, pay taxes, work and abide by the law.
Almost seven years have passed since his family applied for asylum, which, if granted, can provide a pathway to citizenship. But for many, a historic backlog is making the wait long.
“In my case, we [aren’t really] stable because we are not American citizens. We are waiting, just waiting, and see what happens,” said Javier.
'We are here for a reason'
Javier and Nicole couldn’t vote in November's election since they’re not 18 yet, and Javier isn’t a U.S. citizen. But they both stayed up as late as they could to watch the results come in on election night.
“I fell asleep,” Lopez said, “so in the morning, I went on Safari and searched it. I was like, ‘Who won?’”
Even in a divided political atmosphere, Lopez and Javier said they’re trying to understand all points of view.
WUSF's Nancy Guan conducts a Zoom interview with high school students Nicole Lopez and Javier to hear their thoughts on Trump's upcoming 2nd term. Their mentor, Diana Maruri, runs the program La Red Mas, which helps students from Spanish-speaking backgrounds achieve in school. (1163x915, AR: 1.2710382513661203)
“I feel like you have to see both sides to it,” said Lopez, “and understand, if you were in the shoes of somebody who supported the other side, why do you think they would?”
Javier said he thinks the reasons have to do with “keeping things traditional,” though “not everybody is like that.”
Even if he wasn't able to cast a ballot, he understands the reasons behind choosing a particular candidate is complicated. Besides immigration, he's heard a lot of concerns about the economy, a top issue for Trump supporters.
Javier just hopes people can understand where he's coming from as an immigrant.
“We are here for a reason. We're here to work hard, go to school and then be better, and get a better life than what we had back there,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Javier wants to study electrical engineering and “repay his parents for their sacrifices.”
Lopez agreed.
"My parents came here to give me a better life, and my siblings too."
Her dream is to attend the University of South Florida and become a surgeon.
"We're just all here to do the same thing that you guys are doing, just look for better opportunities,” she said, “I’m just looking to give back to my parents after everything that they gave me.”