In the Miami-area city of Doral, Florida, long known as the heart of the Venezuelan diaspora, a quiet reckoning is underway. Many who once cheered President Trump for helping topple Nicolás Maduro now feel their trust eroding, shaped less by the economy than by the way immigration enforcement is reaching into ordinary neighborhoods and the lives of people who believed the law would protect them. As the midterms approach, their shifting hearts reflect a larger story about whether a coalition built on hope and gratitude can hold when the promises of the moment give way to the daily weight of fea
In Venezuelan Stronghold Doral, Trump's Policies Are Souring Some Voters Ahead of Midterms
Local residents and business owners report fear and changed daily routines as ICE agents patrol Doral, and asylum seekers with pending cases and work permits have been targeted.
"I feel, in a way, betrayed."
Mark
Why does Doral matter so much in this story?
Mimi
It has the largest Venezuelan population of any U.S. city, and it voted for Trump in 2024 largely because of Venezuelans who fled Maduro. If support is slipping there, it's a telling place to look.
Mark
And Andrea Ramos is the face of that?
Mimi
Yes. In January she admired Trump for Maduro's capture. Nine months later she says she feels betrayed, mostly over whether the law is being respected.
Luke
She's one voter, though. What does the broader data say?
Mimi
A CBS poll this month has 60% of Hispanic likely voters leaning toward Democrats for Congress and 39% toward Republicans. In 2024 exit polls it was 51 to 46.
Luke
Careful, though. That's Hispanic voters nationally, not Doral or Venezuelan Americans specifically. The story links the two by implication, not by data.
Mark
What's happening on the ground in Doral?
Mimi
Caro, who runs a family coffee shop, describes fear, people changing routines, and some owners worried about closing. Masked ICE agents have been photographed in the city.
Luke
Worth noting that's her description and the owners' concerns. No figures on closures or arrests in Doral are given.
Mark
And the mayor?
Mimi
Christi Fraga was asked three times whether she still supports Trump and wouldn't say directly. She told voters to vote their conscience.
Luke
Ramos is undecided, so the shift is real in her feelings but not yet a confirmed vote.
Le Pouls
- A naturalized Venezuelan-American who once admired Trump now says she feels betrayed as federal agents move through her community.
- Masked ICE agents patrolling Doral have pushed families to change their routines and shopkeepers to fear they may have to close.
- Asylum seekers holding pending cases and work permits are being targeted, unsettling the very voters who once helped deliver the city to Republicans.
- A CBS poll shows Hispanic likely voters leaning 60% toward Democrats, a sharp swing from 2024, with the midterms now testing whether that shift holds.
In the Miami-area city of Doral, Florida, long known as the heart of the Venezuelan diaspora, a quiet reckoning is underway. Many who once cheered President Trump for helping topple Nicolás Maduro now feel their trust eroding, shaped less by the economy than by the way immigration enforcement is reaching into ordinary neighborhoods and the lives of people who believed the law would protect them. As the midterms approach, their shifting hearts reflect a larger story about whether a coalition built on hope and gratitude can hold when the promises of the moment give way to the daily weight of fear.
Last January, Andrea Ramos stood in Doral, Florida, and credited President Trump with bringing down Venezuela's former leader, Nicolás Maduro. She admired him then, and she was not alone. Doral has the largest Venezuelan population of any city in the United States, and its Venezuelan-American voters helped carry the city for Trump in 2024.
Nine months later, Ramos speaks in a different voice. The economy has disappointed her, but what has truly soured her is the administration's immigration enforcement. She feels the law is no longer being respected, and she describes herself as betrayed. She remains undecided about the midterms.
The unease is visible on the street. Stephanie Caro, whose family runs a coffee shop, describes a heightened sense of fear, with neighbors afraid to leave their homes and business owners worried about closing. ICE has increasingly targeted asylum seekers with pending cases and work permits, many of them from the very community that leaned toward Trump.
Doral's Republican mayor, Christi Fraga, would not say plainly whether she still backs the president, offering only that she supports many things and has raised questions about others. She urged voters to follow their conscience. A recent CBS poll suggests Hispanic voters nationally are drifting strongly toward Democrats. Whether Doral follows that path will be answered at the ballot box.
In January, CBS News sat down in Doral, Florida, with Andrea Ramos and her husband as they followed the aftermath of the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Ramos, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Venezuela, credited President Trump with bringing Maduro down. She described her feeling toward the president then as big admiration.
About nine months later, she describes something else. "I feel disappointed," Ramos said. "I feel, in a way, betrayed." The economy disappoints her, but what has turned her against Mr. Trump and the Republican Party, she said, is the administration's approach to immigration enforcement. "Overall, I'm not feeling like the law is being respected," she said.
Doral has the largest Venezuelan population of any city in the country, and it sits inside Miami-Dade County, where Latinos and Hispanics make up more than 70% of residents. Latinos voted for Mr. Trump in record numbers in 2024, and Doral went for him too, driven by Venezuelan Americans who had fled Maduro's socialist government. Heading into the midterms, that voting bloc is open again, and Doral is one place where the movement is visible.
A CBS News poll released earlier this month puts numbers on it. Among Hispanic likely voters, 60% said they were likely to back congressional Democrats, against 39% for Republicans. In 2024, CBS News exit polls found Hispanics voting 51% for Democrats and 46% for Republicans, so the gap has widened considerably.
The same poll points to immigration as a driver. Some 59% of Hispanic likely voters said the administration was trying to deport more people than they had expected, compared with 51% of all likely voters. Asked about the administration's focus on deportation, 59% of Hispanic likely voters said it was too much, versus 49% of all likely voters.
In Doral, the enforcement push is felt on the street. Masked agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been photographed in the city, and local businesses have been affected. Stephanie Caro, whose family owns a coffee shop there, said, "I'd say there is a heightened sense of fear." She added: "It really impacts the entire community. People are scared to leave their houses. They're changing their daily routines." Some business owners have said they worry they will have to close.
ICE has increasingly gone after asylum seekers who have pending cases and active work permits, a group that includes many people from the community Doral's Republican vote leaned on. Mr. Trump's close relationship has also affected his support in the city, according to CBS News.
When CBS News asked Doral's Republican mayor, Christi Fraga, three times whether she still supports Mr. Trump, she declined to answer directly. "There is a lot of things that I support, and there's also questions that I've raised," she said. Asked whether she would urge constituents like Ramos to vote Republican, she again declined. "Vote your conscience," Fraga said.
Ramos herself remains undecided about the midterms. Whether voters in Doral like her end up moving toward Democrats, as the poll suggests among Hispanic voters nationally, is the question the election will answer.
Citations marquantes
Overall, I'm not feeling like the law is being respected.— Andrea Ramos, Doral voter
Vote your conscience.— Doral Mayor Christi Fraga
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Politics & Governance