Sitting in the living room of his Aubrey apartment, Oscar Melendez stared at the closed door of the bedroom. His nephew, Omar Cardenas, used to stay here.
During a raid conducted in March, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had patiently waited outside their apartment.
“They were waiting for Omar to leave the house to arrest him,” Melendez recalled. He was later deported to Venezuela.
When he was detained outside his apartment in Aubrey, Cárdenas attempted to show ICE agents documents proving he had lived and worked legally in the U.S. The officers ignored him.
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Hours after Cárdenas’ arrest, ICE posted his photo on social media, labeling him a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang the Trump administration has targeted in its immigration enforcement since March. He had no criminal record in Venezuela or the United States, according to public records.
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A Dallas Morning News analysis of arrest and deportation data obtained by the Deportation Data Project through a public records lawsuit shows that in the Dallas area of ICE responsibility, arrests of Venezuelans have increased by more than 400% in 2025 when compared to 2024.
Venezuelans who spoke with The News described living in a constant state of fear and growing desperation due to the situation they are enduring. Cárdenas arrived in North Texas two years before his arrest, seeking to escape the Nicolás Maduro regime, which had ruled Venezuela for 13 years.
Maduro was captured at his compound in Caracas by U.S. forces following narcoterrorism charges, after a successful operation that took place early Saturday.
Austin-based immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is deeply familiar with the emotions Venezuelans are experiencing and the challenges they face as immigrants.
“I’ve been telling my Venezuelan clients: ‘You are a target just by virtue of being Venezuelan,’” she said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said the United States’ capture of Maduro will not lead U.S. immigration authorities to ease their pressure on the Venezuelan community.
“It really frustrates me to hear the administration claim that what they’re doing is ‘liberating’ the Venezuelan people, when what we’re actually seeing here is how they torture those who fled Maduro’s regime,” she said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said that, although Venezuelans remain eligible to seek asylum, many are unable to appear for their court hearings because they are detained prior to reaching that stage.
“The problem is that we’re seeing arrests and detentions during their ICE check-ins and even at their court hearings, before the judge has made a decision,’” Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
Demonstrators carry signs and chant at the corner of Commerce and Harwood Streets during a ‘No War with Venezuela’ protest at Main Street Garden in downtown Dallas, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Policy shifts
Immigration policy shifts have added to the uncertainty. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, granting work permits and protection from deportation to thousands. Eligibility was extended in 2023, but on Nov. 8, President Donald Trump’s order to end TPS protections was carried out.
Alejandro, a Venezuelan living in Dallas, says the reversal has devastated his community. He asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of being targeted by ICE.
His girlfriend, who never applied for asylum, lost her legal right to work and can no longer report to her job at a manufacturing plant.
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“She’s absolutely devastated,” Alejandro said. “It’s a crushing blow, financially and emotionally. She’s struggling to process what this means for her future.”
Alejandro is convinced Biden fell into the trap set by Maduro, Venezuela’s president since 2013.
“Unfortunately, the Biden administration opened the borders and allowed a lot of bad people from Venezuela to enter, and they ended up damaging our reputation,” Alejandro said. “Maduro’s strategy was to empty the prisons in Venezuela and send all those bad people to harm this great country, the United States.”
Supporters of the strict immigration policy established by Trump’s administration say a change in direction was absolutely necessary.
“We have achieved historic lows in illegal border crossings,” said Chris Russo, president of Texans for Strong Borders, an organization he founded in 2022 after observing that no group was organized and actively pushing for Texas‑First border security and immigration policies at the state level.
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“The work to undo the damage of the Biden administration will take years, but I fully believe that had the 2024 presidential election in the United States turned out differently, the number of illegal crossings would have continued to be at historically high levels,” Russo said.
The activist hopes the policies established by Trump will become a pillar of future immigration laws and not just the governing style of a single administration.
“I certainly hope that future administrations will continue to invest in fully securing our borders, ending catch‑and‑release, and communicating to the world that those crossing our border illegally will be sent home,” Russo said.
Government supporters gather for a women’s march to demand the return of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, three days after U.S. forces captured him and his wife. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Matias Delacroix / AP
Impacts in Venezuela
For many families in Venezuela, the consequences of the immigration crackdown are even greater. The U.S. has become a vital source of remittances, as Venezuelans living here send billions of dollars to their families every year.
In 2022 alone, Venezuela received more than $4.2 billion in remittances, approximately 5% of its GDP.
The United States contributed 38% of those funds, despite hosting only 12% of Venezuelan migrants worldwide.
As of 2023, approximately 770,000 Venezuelan immigrants resided in the U.S., accounting for slightly less than 2% of the country’s total 47.8 million immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
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Under Trump’s second term, immigration enforcement has intensified.
His administration has launched raids against Venezuelans, citing concerns about the Tren de Aragua presence in the U.S.
“What’s troubling is how Venezuelans have been singled out,” said Lincoln-Goldfinch. “I don’t know if it’s racially or politically motivated, or both, but it started early in this administration. We saw agents going after asylum-seekers and TPS holders almost immediately.”
Now, Milton and other Venezuelans face an impossible choice.
“We’re at a crossroads,” he said. “If we stay, we live in fear, always looking over our shoulders. But if we go back, we have no way to support our families.”
According to the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey, an estimated 122,038 Venezuelans reside in Texas, with about 20,000 living in the Dallas metropolitan area.
While Florida hosts the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, Texas ranks second, reflecting its growing role as a hub for Venezuelan immigrants.
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The Department of Homeland Security has said conditions in Venezuela no longer meet the statutory requirements for TPS and allowing Venezuelans to remain in the U.S. is not in the national interest, citing factors such as public safety, national security and migration.
Pedro Antonio Lopez, an immigration attorney in Dallas who works closely with the Venezuelan community, said there is deep concern among many of the people he represents.
“What I’m seeing is a sense of confusion, but also a feeling of betrayal,” Lopez said. “Many Venezuelans entered the country legally, and now they feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them.”