Immigrants are streaming out of a Miami suburb best known for its Trump National golf resort, where the president plans to host the G20 summit next year.
The exodus from Doral, Florida, comes as the Trump administration moves to strip temporary protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and other immigrants, destabilizing a community where nearly 40 percent of residents trace their roots back to the South American country.
Doral, which is home to America’s largest Venezuelan immigrant population, has faced a major community backlash since the city council unanimously agreed to form an official partnership with ICE in April, requiring local law enforcement agents to assist ICE in its mass deportation efforts.
Adelys Ferro, executive director of the liberal Venezuelan American Caucus, called the partnership “a betrayal of the trust Venezuelans placed in their local authorities.” As a result of the ruling, many longtime residents are fleeing the city.
Maria Eugenia Nucete, a veteran real estate agent in Doral, told The Wall Street Journal her clients are leaving the area due to uncertainty around their immigration status. “They’re all telling me, ‘No, I can’t stay, my [temporary status] is expiring,’” she said. She has watched tenants abandon leases overnight—sometimes leaving furniture behind.
The numbers tell the story. Vacancy rates across Miami-Dade County sit around 4.3 percent, but in Doral they’ve surged to 6.5 percent—and even topped 10 percent in some buildings. Rents have dropped to three-year lows as families head to Spain, Italy and some even back to Venezuela.
Gabriela Hernandez, 26, is among those residents seeking shelter elsewhere. “All of our plans here have collapsed,” she told The Wall Street Journal, describing how her boyfriend drove out of town under the cover of darkness to avoid federal agents. The couple now plans to emigrate to Spain.
Christi Fraga, Doral’s Republican mayor, acknowledged the “self-deportations,” saying families with uncertain legal status have bolted. “I’m sure it will affect the housing market to a certain extent,” she said.
Landlords are tightening standards, too. Some buildings are now asking would-be tenants about their immigration status before they sign a lease—policies fair-housing attorneys warn could cross into outright discrimination. “It could be viewed as a race-discrimination case or it could be viewed as a case involving allegations of discrimination based upon national origin,” Miami lawyer Courtney Cunningham told the Journal.
Trump, meanwhile—who purchased his golf club in Doral in 2012—appears to view the city as a tropical paradise, and the perfect stage for global power.
In 2020, during his first term, Trump floated hosting the G7 at his resort before retreating under heavy fire over ethics concerns.
“I thought I was doing something very good for our country by using Trump National Doral, in Miami, for hosting the G7 leaders,” he wrote on Twitter at the time. “But, as usual, the hostile media & Democrat partners went CRAZY!”
Five years later, the president has doubled down on that earlier effort by announcing his club will play host to world leaders during the upcoming G20 summit, which is scheduled for two days beginning Dec. 14, 2026.
“I’m thrilled to announce that the 2026 G20 conference will be held in one of our country’s greatest cities, beautiful Miami, Florida,” Trump revealed on Sept. 5.
He went on to insist that “Everybody wants it [at Doral], because it’s right next to the airport, it’s the best location. Beautiful everything.”
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