Las Vegas Nicaragua folklorico group rehearsing in private amid immigration fears

By Karla Salinas

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The end of temporary protected status for Nicaraguans is forcing some families in Las Vegas to make some tough decisions — including where they feel safe gathering.

A valley folklorico group is now choosing to rehearse in private out of caution. The Nicaraguan cultural group in Las Vegas has been around for a decade they’ve danced folklorico for crowds all across the valley.

But in recent months, they’ve traded public stages for backyard patios. The director of this group, Ruben Ruiz, said they feel safer there after two of their own self-deported out of fear.

“Unfortunately, we no longer rehearse at our previous location, it was government location, but since it is a public place, we want to avoid any surprises,” Ruiz said. “That would be bad for many of our families.”

The group has members who, like many across the nation, are now on alert after the federal government terminated temporary protected status for Nicaraguans.

The protections officially end September 8, affecting thousands across the U.S.

“We came to work, we came to get ahead, we came to help our family overcome because our country is currently in a very difficult situation,” Ruiz said.

The Department of Homeland Security said conditions in Nicaragua have improved. But exile journalist Kalua Salazar disagrees, she fled the country in 2023 after reporting on human rights abuses.

“We are denied entry to our own country of nationality, which is a violation of the birth rights of any person, not just Nicaraguans,” she said in Spanish.

Salazar said the loss of TPS puts thousands of long-settled families in limbo, some with no roots left in the country they’re being told to return to.

“They have no home, no family, no job. Often, the language is no longer the same, nor are the customs,” Salazar said.

But despite the uncertainty, the dancers continue.

“Let us have faith, let us have faith above all in God, that I know this will get better, that we should not panic,” Ruiz said in Spanish.

TPS protections for Nicaraguans expire September 8. Anyone affected is encouraged to renew their work permit, ask about asylum eligibility and explore other forms of legal relief.