As President Donald Trump has been cracking down on deporting illegal aliens, with some headed to Central American prisons, many people who are in the United States illegally are self-deporting, according to a weekend report.
A report from the New York Times indicates that many foreign nationals in Denver, which has welcomed more illegal migrants per capita than any other major U.S. city, are increasingly open to the idea of self-deportation.
This shift in sentiment marks a significant change from the Biden administration, during which immigration officials permitted millions of foreign nationals to apply for asylum and stay in the country. Republicans have argued for years that Biden was allowing so many migrants into the country illegally in order to boost electoral numbers for Democrats in states where they were losing native populations.
According to the Times, a 29-year-old Venezuelan national named Christian, who arrived in the city in 2023, requested asylum and received a work permit, has changed his mind about staying since Trump got back in the White House.
“He sends money to his wife and children in Venezuela. Christian does not have any tattoos, a customary gang indicator, he said. He possesses a work permit and an active asylum application, which theoretically protects him from imminent deportation,” The Times reported.
“I just hope to manage to leave before they deport me,” a 29-year-old Venezuelan named Jesus told the outlet.
He said he came to the United States in 2024 and was detained for some time before he was released, but now he says he would prefer to leave on his own as opposed to being deported.
“I came here to work to help my family,” Jesús, who has five sisters, said.
Karla and Ender, a Venezuelan couple with four children, said they are living much better in Colorado than they were in Venezuela.
“You can barely make enough money to feed your family in Venezuela,” Karla said to The Times. “We live much better here.”
“We’ll leave once we have accomplished our goals, maybe in two years,” Ender added.
Recently, a member of New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s staff who was apparently in the U.S. illegally also decided to leave the United States.
Diego de la Vega, born in Ecuador, arrived in the United States at age 7 in 2001 on a visitor’s visa that he eventually overstayed, according to Migrant Insider. He became a recipient of then-President Barack Obama’s DACA — Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals — program, which was essentially an amnesty that the Supreme Court later upheld during the first Trump administration.
However, the development raises questions about his employment status with the Queens-based congresswoman, Fox News reported.
“It’s bittersweet. I hadn’t left the country in 23 years — from age seven to age 30,” de la Vega told Migrant Insider. “Now, I can’t go back to the U.S. It feels like exile. It’s a very permanent move. But my wife and I are confident we made the right decision. And, after some time, it’s been a real pleasure to be here.
“It feels surreal to not be illegalized anymore. I don’t have to live in the shadows or constantly worry about paperwork,” he added. “That freedom of movement is incredibly satisfying.”
After the Dream Act narrowly failed in 2010—falling short in the Senate by just five votes—de la Vega became politically engaged. After a stint with an immigrant rights organization, he served as communications director for Robert Rodriguez, a former New York State Assembly member who now leads the New York State Dormitory Authority, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In 2021, de la Vega joined Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election campaign and eventually rose to the role of deputy communications director, Fox added.
“Diego is amazing,” Ocasio-Cortez told the news outlet. “We love him.”
It’s important to note that DACA recipients are prohibited from holding paid positions in congressional offices.
“We were always honest with voters in New York City,” de la Vega said of working with Ocasio-Cortez. “We didn’t dumb it down or tell them what they wanted to hear. We engaged with them honestly. We listened, then explained that Alexandria was fighting for reform, but Republicans were blocking it.”
Leave a Reply