More than 627,000 Venezuelans lost deportation protections and work authorization after the Trump administration ended Venezuela’s 2023 Temporary Protected Status designation, though a federal district court ruled the termination exceeded the Department of Homeland Security’s authority; the case remains under appeal.

A Ninth Circuit ruling had cleared the way for protections to resume on November 6, 2026, but an Election Day administrative stay delayed reinstatement for 14 days, extending uncertainty for Venezuelan families.

The effects are especially visible in Doral, where more than 30 percent of residents are of Venezuelan descent; Councilmember Maureen Porras said fear of detention has kept some people from work and children from school.

In the 2026 elections, Miami-Dade shifted about 18 points toward Democrats compared with the 2024 presidential election, and Democrats won 259 House seats and 54 Senate seats, gaining the ability to bring immigration legislation directly to the floor.

The bill’s discharge petition had reached 217 of the 218 signatures needed to force a vote under the previous House majority, but Democrats can now bring it directly to the floor; advocates are urging the incoming Congress to act within its first 90 days.

The National TPS Alliance says it has gathered more than 130,000 petition signatures urging Congress to protect families, while advocates point to the American Dream and Promise Act as a path to permanent residency for eligible beneficiaries who have lived in the United States since 2017.

In Florida’s 27th District, Republican incumbent María Elvira Salazar led Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez by about 1,090 votes, or 0.44 percent, triggering a mandatory recount; Rodriguez also filed a federal lawsuit seeking the recusal of Miami-Dade’s elections supervisor from the canvassing board.

Oliver Gilbert III won Florida’s 24th Congressional District with more than 80 percent of the vote, succeeding Frederica Wilson, who did not seek reelection.

Democrats also broke the Republican supermajority in Florida’s state House, with Lucia Baez-Geller and Gloria Romero Roses winning seats, while Ashley Gantt was elected to the Florida Senate.