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Tag: Immigration in America

  • Tampa Bay families react to DHS reunification program decision

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Experts say thousands of immigrants currently in the U.S. will be affected when the Department of Homeland Security ends family reunification programs for seven countries, citing fraud and security concerns.

    What You Need To Know

    • DHS is ending Reunification Parole Programs for immigrants from seven countries

    • DHS officials say they’re ending the programs due to poorly vetted immigration process

    • Catholic Charities officials say many people impacted are looking for other pathways to remain in the country

    • Attorney Ricardeau Lucceos says many Haitians are feeling the impact, and he’s hoping to help


    Ricardeau Lucceos moved to the U.S. from Haiti with one goal, to look for a better life. He’s been living in Tampa since 1998, and many people know him as a community lawyer.

    Lucceos says he works closely with the Haitian community through his business as a personal accident attorney, and through his community service.

    Recently, he said he’s been hearing about concerns regarding the end of the family reunification parole program.

    And he says he’s seeing the impact firsthand.

    “It becomes a strain on the families who come here,” he said. “And it’s a bigger problem for them, too, because before they come here, they run looking for safety and now they have to go back to nothing.”

    The program reunited families from countries like Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador and more.

    “The program was a legal pathway for many to immigrate to the U.S.,” said Jose Fernandez, an immigration counselor with Catholic Charities. “It gives them the opportunity to migrate and be here with their family, to wait here and apply here, that was the purpose of the program.”

    Fernandez said the program was a success for the families his organization serves, and helped reunite loved ones who haven’t seen each other in years.

    “Some have mentioned that they want to return, and others are looking for another legal pathway to stay,” he said.

    Officials with the Department of Homeland Security say the department is returning parole decisions to a case-by-case basis. They say abuse of the parole system allowed poorly vetted immigrants to enter the country.

    While Lucceos says the termination of the program will impact families, he said it also could lead to something else — re-building elsewhere.

    “We, as immigrants, need to start making some decisions in terms of rebuilding our home rebuilding our nation where we come from,” he said.

    Lucceos is working to help more families stay in Haiti by creating Prehacopa, a business prioritizing national development for the country.

    He hopes U.S. leaders will come together to help, too.

    Ricardeau said that while ending the family reunification parole programs might be a setback for some in Tampa, he’s hopeful it will also encourage Haitians to work to bring change back to their own country as well.

    Those who are under the reunification parole program have until Jan. 14 to either leave or find another pathway to stay.

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    Lizbeth Gutierrez

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  • Immigration attorney shares advice for clients looking to travel

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    TAMPA, Fla. — The holiday season involves traveling for many, but for several immigrant families here in the Tampa Bay area, there’s hesitancy about any travel plans.

    And one has been a permanent U.S. resident for nearly 20 years.

    What You Need To Know

    • An immigration attorney says many of her clients are hesitant to travel this holiday season
    • The attorney’s advice is that residents or those with pending cases carry their legal documents
    • She says there have been cases where immigration enforcement has stopped or questioned her clients about their legal statuses
    • One family shares the impact this hesitancy is having on their annual travel plans


    Immigration lawyers say fewer people are traveling because of stronger immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.

    A picture shows a glimpse into the life of Adriana.

    “This picture was taken at my dad’s birthday party, where he turned 95. This is all of the family together,” she says.

    Adriana, who did not want her identity revealed even though she’s been a permanent U.S. resident for 16 years, says increased immigration enforcement concerns her because of the uncertainty about what would happen if she were detained.

    And it made her think twice about her annual travel plans to see her family in Colombia, with her husband, Osvaldo.

    “We have this fear of going and not being allowed back into the country,” she says.

    It’s filled her with anxiety, thinking about leaving the country. Osvaldo is a citizen as well; he also did not want his identity revealed to protect his wife. 

    He says their concerns would keep his wife from seeing her elderly parents.

    “It makes you think twice more about traveling to visit your family and that shouldn’t be there, you’re going to visit family, you’re going to have a good time,” he said.

    Immigration attorney Danielle Hernandez has heard similar stories from the families she serves. She says there have been cases where immigration enforcement has stopped or questioned her clients about their legal statuses.

    “We’ve heard of residents being detained, sometimes they have infractions that they’re not aware of that have immigration consequences, then we have people who are going through the right process and have immigration cases pending who are rightfully anxious about being detained,” says Hernandez.

    She’s advising permanent residents who are planning to travel to carry all legal documentation, and for those who have pending cases, to carry receipts of those applications.

    Adriana says despite her concerns, it’s a risk she’s willing to take to see her loved ones.

    “We all go with faith that we’ll return because we have our employment here, and it would just hurt not coming back knowing I have my life here,” she says.

    A life she’s worked hard to build and one she hopes to continue calling her forever home.

    The immigration attorney says even those traveling by car — regardless of the distance — could still be stopped and questioned about their legal status.

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    Lizbeth Gutierrez

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