'The American dream is over': Trump's deportation policies are pushing Latin Americans to Spain

U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping deportation run and hardline attack to restricting immigration, peculiarly from Latin American countries, has caused a knock-on effect successful Spain. The state is seeing an expanding fig of Latinos arriving, abandoning their American dream.

Benjamin Enrique Berardinelli Manjarrez is 1 of them. The 33-year-old Colombian arrived successful Madrid astatine the opening of May, by mode of Italy. 

"My archetypal thought was to spell to the U.S. Like galore different Latinos, I person this imagination of America for a amended beingness and to marque money," said Berardinelli Manjarrez. "In 1 day, you tin gain capable wealth to wage a month's rent successful Colombia."

He was readying to question to the U.S. borderline and transverse illegally, but Trump's tougher migration policies forced him to alteration his plans. 

"Many Colombian friends told maine they privation to spell back. They don't consciousness harmless anymore and are frightened of ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the police," said Berardinelli Manjarrez, who near down a woman and a astir three-year-old child. 

He present has to hold 2 years earlier helium tin use for a peculiar residence licence for foreigners successful an "irregular situation." 

"The U.S. is excessively unsafe for america now. I deliberation the American imagination is over. Now, it's Europe," helium said. 

More Latinos expected successful Spain

Spain already recorded a surge successful the fig of Venezuelans seeking asylum successful the archetypal 4th of 2025, with 23,724 requests, an summation of 54 per cent compared to the aforesaid play past year. 

"This is conscionable the beginning," said Ana María Diez, co-founder and president of Coalition for Venezuela, an planetary federation of Venezuelan migrant and exile NGOs. 

Mexico said it has received astir 39,000 radical deported from the U.S. since Trump took office. Those deportations could summation further arsenic the U.S. Supreme Court authorized the Trump medication to extremity deportation protections for immoderate 350,000 Venezuelans.

"Many are present acrophobic to spell to the U.S. with Trump's xenophobic and anti-rights speeches," Diez said. "Those are present giving up the American imagination to effort to prosecute the European dream, and obviously, the gateway is Spain."

Spain is, indeed, an easier introduction constituent than different countries for Latin Americans, who talk the aforesaid connection and already cognize the culture. They besides don't request a visa to travel arsenic tourists for less than 90 days. 

"It's a spot similar a lottery," said Máchelin Díaz, an migration lawyer successful Madrid. "Sometimes, upon arrival, they whitethorn beryllium questioned and returned if they deliberation the tourer idiosyncratic is coming to question asylum."

CBC News spoke with a Venezuelan lawyer lone 3 days aft his accomplishment successful the Spanish capital. Trump's instrumentality to the White House besides changed his plans. 

"Under Biden, it was already hard but imaginable to execute this, but now, with Trump it is astir impossible," explained the 40-year-old. 

CBC agreed to support his individuality confidential due to the fact that helium feared repercussions implicit his governmental activism successful Venezuela.

After trying Austria a fewer years ago, wherever his asylum petition was rejected, helium returned to his state with the anticipation of going to the U.S. illegally. But the decease of a friend, who drowned portion trying to scope the U.S., and the fearfulness of deportation changed his mind.

He present hopes to payment from a Spanish instrumentality that allows children oregon grandchildren of emigrants with Spanish practice to use for citizenship. He hopes to yet besides bring his woman and 2 children to Spain. 

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In the meantime, with small wealth left, helium says helium doesn't cognize wherever helium volition walk the adjacent fewer weeks. 

"I anticipation I volition beryllium capable to find a tiny occupation connected the achromatic marketplace during the tourer play to gain possibly 40 oregon 50 euros per day. It's not much, due to the fact that Madrid is precise expensive, but it would beryllium something."

Overwhelmed by asylum applications

Díaz says that successful her signifier she is besides seeing Latinos who are already successful the U.S., immoderate with bully jobs, making applications connected economical oregon asylum grounds. 

"They each privation to travel to Spain now," she said.

However, Spain was already swamped with asylum applications earlier this caller wave, arsenic tighter controls successful Italy and Greece pushed galore migrants to participate Europe via the Canary Islands. 

"It's hard to cognize yet what the afloat interaction volition be, but what is definite is that the strategy is truly overwhelmed, and the procedures are highly long," said Díaz. "It tin instrumentality a twelvemonth earlier you get your archetypal assignment for your application, and past you person to hold respective much months for the process to beryllium finalized."

The left-wing Spanish authorities precocious amended the migration instrumentality successful the anticipation of processing undocumented migrants much quickly. 

"Last year, the script was mostly to instrumentality Latinos. Now, they are amended accepted," said Díaz.

Historically, Spain has 1 of the EU's lowest support rates for asylum, 18.5 per cent successful 2024 compared to the European mean of 42 per cent. 

"This is peculiarly the lawsuit for Colombian and Cuban radical who don't suffice for [asylum] presumption adjacent if we cognize that successful these countries they don't person ideology and person a batch of issues," said Díaz. "Authorities volition accidental they travel present for economical reasons and not for protection."

The fearfulness of being near successful limbo

Alexander Jose Salazar Ramirez, a 34-year-old Venezuelan, says helium feels trapped. He fled for governmental reasons and has been surviving successful Peru since 2018 and successful 2023 was asked to enactment successful a UN exile resettlement programme successful the U.S. 

"I got each my documents ready, and they gave maine a question day for Feb. 13 [2025] to Chicago," said Ramirez. "I sold each my things, discontinue my job, near the apartment, and a week earlier the flight, they told maine that I could nary longer question by bid of President Trump."

Since then, helium has been successful limbo, not capable to instrumentality to his state for fearfulness of being jailed. 

"I've been denouncing the changeless quality rights violations occurring successful Venezuela. I'm similar a people for the government. Even here, I don't consciousness precise safe," said Ramirez, who says helium has to commencement his beingness from scratch. "I'm truly considering Spain, but for now, I can't spend it."

The president of the Coalition for Venezuela says Spain should enactment with the UN and the U.S. to institute a resettlement process for radical similar Ramirez. 

"These radical get stuck without an alternative," said Diez. 

The Spanish authorities has said it is moving connected a program to accommodate the bulk of Latino deportees from the U.S. but has not yet revealed the details.

"The caller decisions successful the U.S. person sadly impacted the full South American region," said Diez. "We person seen different countries trying to replicate the barriers that Trump is mounting successful place, specified arsenic Argentina, which was historically a harmless haven for radical worldwide. This could besides propulsion adjacent much radical into exile."