22-05-2025
Young Nicaraguan family who came to Vermont legally make shocking decision in wake of Trump migrant crackdown
A young Nicaraguan family who came to the US legally have decided to self-deport amid President Donald Trump 's migrant crackdown.
Andrea and Nahomy Chavarría, two sisters who moved to Vermont in 2024 under Joe Biden 's administration with their mother and father, had to graduate early from Champlain Valley Union High School in April and pack their bags to head back to their home country.
Now, with Trump back in office, he has not only tried to get criminals and gang members out of the US, but has also made it a point to get those without citizenship and people who entered under Biden's humanitarian programs to leave as well.
In late March Trump's administration announced they would be sending out notices to 532,000 immigrants across the US who came in under the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) Parole Program, informing them that they would be deported or had to leave the US willingly.
Initially, when Trump was re-elected, the family was nervous but remained confident and determined to go on with their lives in America, but when the girls' father, Bernardino Chavarría, came across an article on the president's new initiative on March 21, he soon realized his family's reality.
He quickly informed his wife and daughters of the news that their legal status would be revoked in about a month, leaving them with a hard decision - to stay and wait to be deported or leave at their own will.
After a couple days, the family mulled over the idea as both Andrea, 19, and Nahomy, 18, reflected on their time in the States and dreams they hoped to accomplish after graduating.
'We are always trying to understand, trying to not make mistakes. We wanted [the US] to know that we are glad that we are here,' Andrea told The Boston Globe.
She dreamed of attending veterinary school in the US while her younger sister wanted to go to college to study civil engineering to one day build affordable housing for low income communities, they told the outlet.
'We had plans. I was dreaming of what I could do,' Andrea added.
The family-of-four soon realized that if they chose to stay it would be unclear if they could graduate high school, go to college, start a professional career, or even a family in the US.
According to Andrea, the current administration was 'basically pushing you to be illegal.'
The girls' uncle, Wilmer Chavarría, was heartbroken to learn his nieces, brother and sister-in-law were leaving the country, but he also knew it was in their best interest to do so.
Wilmer, who works as a school superintendent in Winooski - about 40 minutes outside of Montpelier - bought a three-bedroom home in 2024 with his husband Cyrus Dudgeon and took in his family.
Bernardino and his wife Auxiliadora Amado soon got jobs as custodians at a local school district before he went on to become a multilingual liaison for another district, he told the outlet.
Soon enough, they applied for legal permission for them to permanently stay in the US while their daughters enrolled in school and got jobs at a nearby supermarket.
Despite all of their best efforts to establish roots in America, Wilmer knew what was best for his loved ones.
'It wasn't only about the parole program being terminated for everybody on a specific date,' he said.
'It was also that the conditions were being created so that it would be impossible to stay.'
After hearing of the hard decision they had to make, Wilmer said his family felt the Trump's administration was telling them: 'We don't want you.'
On April 23 - just one day before the administration's deadline for those in the country under CHNV - his brother's family packed up and headed to Burlington Airport.
Wilmer and his husband took them there as he decided to travel with them back to Nicaragua and get them settled in.
Dudgeon, who said goodbye before they got to security, said he was emotional, but it wasn't just sadness that he felt.
'Of course I'm sad, but mostly angry. It's going to be weird being in that big house,' he said.
About a month after he had to part ways with his family, Wilmer said they were 'lucky' they were about to choose what happened to them, unlike other families.
'They were lucky that they are one of the few families that get to make that choice,' he told NBC5.
'There are a lot of families that can not make that choice to simply leave for different reasons.'
He also expressed his gratitude toward his niece's former school for allowing them to still graduate and get the recognition they deserved.
'They made an exception; they created a ceremony just for them. They accelerated their requirements so that they could get their diploma before they got on that plane, and I am very grateful for that,' Wilmer said.
Katherine Riley, the girls' former principal, said the school was more than happy to honor Andrea and Nahomy before they left.
'It felt really important to make it celebratory and to make it reflect kind of who they are as young adults. It felt nice to be able to do something for them and their family,' Riley told the outlet.
