Venezuelan Mother Leaves U.S. Amid Rising Deportation Fears Under Trump Administration

For Yessica Rojas, the decision was unmistakable. After spending less than two years in Missouri, she chose to leave the United States with her two children.

Rojas explained that her choice was influenced by viral social media stories about Venezuelan mothers like herself who had been deported while U.S. authorities detained their children.

“It’s no longer worth it,” said Rojas, 29, reflecting on why she decided to abandon her hopes in the U.S.

These reports are more than just rumors. Earlier this year, a two-year-old Venezuelan girl named Antonella was held in a shelter while her mother was deported to Venezuela and her father sent to a prison in El Salvador. Antonella has since been reunited with her family.

That same week, Rojas left Branson, Missouri, taking her children with her.

Such incidents have deeply unsettled migrant communities, achieving what official government warnings and even offers of $1,000 incentives for voluntary departure under the previous administration failed to do: persuading some migrant parents to leave the United States.