Uncertainty. That’s the status for many journalists from Latin America living in the United States under different immigration processes, from asylum applications to approvals for entry under humanitarian parole.
As part of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies, his administration has eliminated programs such as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for people from countries like Venezuela; halted humanitarian parole programs for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; and made it virtually impossible to petition for asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Additionally, the U.S. government’s financial aid cuts, through agencies such as USAID, have not only affected media outlets and journalists who received funding but also other projects that supported journalists seeking to leave their countries for safety reasons.
“There are already effects with Donald Trump’s arrival,” Angélica Cárcamo, director of the Central American Journalists Network (RCP for its initials in Spanish), told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). “One effect is that funds have been frozen. The International Organization for Migration, which I understand had many funds from USAID, had to freeze them, and people were left stranded.”
Central American journalists who were selected for the Central American Ascend Scholarships, which also relied on USAID funds, have already been notified their scholarships were suspended or that they will no longer receive funding, Cárcamo said.
Mariana Belloso, coordinator of the Latin American Journalism in Exile Network (Relpex) of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), also sees a direct effect of funding cuts on journalists seeking to migrate. Belloso said there were also programs funded by USAID aimed at providing legal assistance to journalists facing persecution.
Political persecution is precisely one of the main reasons why Latin American journalists seek asylum outside their home country, including in the United States, Belloso told LJR.
According to Relpex records, of the 170 members in the network, the United States is the second-largest host country for exiled journalists after Costa Rica. The countries that most frequently force journalists into exile, based on their records, are Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and El Salvador.
For journalists already in the United States, the situation has become confusing. For several years, asylum processes have been at a standstill, Belloso said.
“In the network, we have cases of journalists who have been here for three or four years and still have not had their interview [before a judge]. This was already a concern for us before,” Belloso said. She explained that this interview was supposed to be scheduled within the first year of initiating the process.
Another concern for organizations working to protect press freedom is the cancellation of humanitarian parole. Nicaraguan journalists, in particular, who had used this mechanism not only to stay in the United States but also to reunite with their families, now face uncertainty.
According to Víctor Pérez, a director at the Nicaraguan Independent Journalists and Communicators organization (PCIN), their records show at least 20 Nicaraguan journalists in the United States under humanitarian parole. Another 35 arrived in the country after being exiled from Nicaragua.
“We are extremely worried because this directly affects a large part of the press community registered with PCIN, but we know there is an even larger number of colleagues who are not registered with PCIN and who have also relocated to the United States,” Pérez told LJR.
In Nicaragua’s case, Pérez said, it is particularly concerning that these journalists could be deported to a country where they were systematically persecuted. In fact, he explained that PCIN had attempted to obtain a response from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the situation of exiled journalists.
“He didn’t respond at all to that question,” Perez said. “He only talked about the [Nicaraguan] dictatorship and how they were enemies of humanity.”
Venezuelan journalists are experiencing a similar situation. There are no exact figures on how many have gone into exile or specifically how many are in the United States, according to Venezuelan journalist Luz Mely Reyes, who has been studying the issue for two years.
However, in surveys conducted for her research, most Venezuelan journalists who responded indicated that they were in the United States, Reyes told LJR.
Venezuelan citizens, including journalists, had entered the United States using the TPS program for Venezuela, but on Feb. 3, the Trump administration eliminated it.
“After reviewing the country’s conditions and consulting with the relevant U.S. government agencies, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that conditions in Venezuela no longer justify its designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2023,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated in a press release.
For Reyes, the possibility that these journalists could be deported to Venezuela is extremely concerning, as conditions for journalism have not improved.
“Any journalist from Venezuela who has sought refuge in the United States would be at risk if they were sent back,” Reyes said. “In Venezuela, there is persecution and criminalization of journalism.”
LJR emailed USCIS with questions concerning Latin American journalists under different immigration processes in the U.S., particularly those from Nicaragua and Venezuela. As of publication, we have not received a response.
Amid the uncertainty, the organizations that spoke with LJR are preparing for the worst of scenarios.
While they do not rule out eventually attempting to engage with the Trump administration to mediate a solution for journalists persecuted in their countries, they believe the best option is to work together, Pérez, from PCIN, said.
According to Cárcamo from RCP, conversations have already begun with other organizations in countries like Mexico and Costa Rica to explore whether they can take in journalists from other nations whose asylum requests are denied in the United States.
“These are complex, difficult times,” Cárcamo said. “But I also believe that adversity brings opportunities for innovation, and coordination and collective work are more important today than ever.”
