Miami Republicans Push Back on Trump's Deportation Plans: 'We Have a Constituency to Represent'

A group of Miami-area Republican lawmakers is voicing concern over former President Trump's renewed push to dismantle key immigration protections, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and a parole program for migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela.

Representatives Carlos Gimenez, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Maria Elvira Salazar have publicly called for a more "nuanced" approach, diverging from the broader Republican stance as legal and political battles unfold over the fate of thousands of immigrants in South Florida.

In a recent hearing, Rep. Gimenez asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to reconsider blanket deportations. "Nuance would be that instead of having wholesale deportations, it needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis," said Gimenez to The Hill while referring to his comments at the hearing.

Gimenez added that even though he has backed many of Trump's immigration policies so far, the situation in Miami is demands he speaks out:

"We have a constituency to represent. We also know that the reality in Miami-Dade is not the same in reality as New York City. Our immigrant population, they don't end up in hotels and a lot of them were assimilated by their family and their friends. And they're part of the economy right now. And so the reality in our areas is different than the reality in other areas"

Diaz-Balart echoed Gimenez' sentiment, telling The Hill that "you probably have a better chance to have legitimate asylum claims if you're coming from places like Cuba, Venezuela." The representatives argue that many TPS and parole recipients are credible asylum seekers facing political persecution or instability in their home countries.

Their opposition comes as the Trump administration seeks to rescind protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many of whom live in the state. It got a legal victory on Monday after the Supreme Court ruled that it administration can revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the country, paving the way for their deportation.

The pushback is also taking place amid political pressure from advocacy groups and within the state. Billboards funded by Keep Them Honest and the Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus accuse the lawmakers of betrayal, highlighting perceived contradictions between their past support for immigrants fleeing dictatorships and their current alignment with Trump's policies.

"They've forgotten where they come from, but we haven't," said Abel S. Delgado, president of the Caucus.

Many Venezuelans in Florida, once supporters of Trump, now express feelings of abandonment. "You can feel the fear," said Daniel Oropeza, a TPS holder facing possible deportation in a recent report by CNN.