U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping deportation campaign and hardline approach to restricting immigration, particularly from Latin American countries, has caused a knock-on effect in Spain. The country is seeing an increasing number of Latinos arriving, abandoning their American dream.
Benjamin Enrique Berardinelli Manjarrez is one of them. The 33-year-old Colombian arrived in Madrid at the beginning of May, by way of Italy.
“My first idea was to go to the U.S. Like many other Latinos, I have this dream of America for a better life and to make money,” said Berardinelli Manjarrez. “In one day, you can earn enough money to pay a month’s rent in Colombia.”
“Many Colombian friends told me they want to go back. They don’t feel safe anymore and are scared of ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the police,” said Berardinelli Manjarrez, who left behind a wife and a nearly three-year-old child.
Hell I’m an American citizen and I might end up living in Spain at this rate
The list of acceptable countries to live in when emigrating from the United States has been getting very long lately