“On November 7 I Lose Everything”: A musician’s Fears as TPS Ends
Mariano, a Venezuelan musician living in the United states, faces an uncertain future as his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) work permit is set โฃto expire on November 7th. Having arrived โin the US eleven years ago, he initially pursued his dreamโค of studying at โฃBerklee and establishing โฃaโข life in New York City – dreams that both came true. Now,โ everything he’s built is threatened.
“Within two hours of โฃbeing there, I fell โinโ love with the city and told my mother: ‘I want to live here when I grow up.’ And, thank God, I did it,” Mariano shared with EL PAรS via videoconference from Boston.
Before receiving TPS, Mariano navigated the complexities of student visas and โคscholarships, constantly seeking a pathโฃ to legal employment. The process was “tortuousโค and slow,” and he nearly lost his residency permit due to financial hardship while nearing graduation. The prospect of returning to venezuela triggered bouts of depression and anxiety.
The authorization of TPS for Venezuelans by the Biden administration in 2021 offered a lifeline. “Thanks to it he was able to work,” earning enough to support โhimself and send remittances to his parents, who โขlater โฃjoined him in the United States after his initial departure.
Mariano โbalances aโค career asโฃ a musician – performing,composing,and teaching music to children – with theโฃ precariousness of his immigration status.In 2023, he participated in a three-month tour with the โMexican group RBD, performing in 30 large stadiums acrossโค the US, including two sold-out nights at Madison โSquare Garden.
Despite renewing his TPS this year, Mariano anticipated challenges following โDonald Trump’s election victory.โฃ “I made the investment in the renovation knowing that it โขmight not be worth anything, that I was going to lose my money,” he admitted. He is now grappling with uncertainty, butโค determined not to be paralyzedโ by fear. “I don’t let it eat away at me because if not, I’ll paralyze myself. In hisโ life,heโ has become accustomed to living with fear and not having it dominate him. “Living in venezuela there was always panic. Everything was survival. And I already feel like I have that built in.I already have it inside me.”
Mariano finds unsettling parallels between the conditions heโ fled in Venezuela and the current political climate in the United States. “What I feel now is that there are many things similar to Venezuela. In terms of corruption, โคin terms of fascism, in terms of not having any type of interest or compassionโ for humanโค beings,” he reflected.
He also expressed a sense of gratitude for his relatively easier path to the US, having arrived by โคplane, compared to others he’s met. “In new York I connected with other people who left their โcountry on foot, went through the jungle, with babies, with children, seeing dead people, completely terrifying things. Iโ feel โblessed because I left Venezuela by plane.”
