He remembers hearing stories every day of
violence in Venezuela. A gun was pulled on his mother while her car was
at a stoplight, and his grandfather was robbed after making a bank
withdrawal. To keep her kids safe, Elias' mother transferred to a
company in Miami on a visa that allows executives and managers from
other countries to work in the United States and then to apply for
permanent resident status. But she never got the chance to apply for
permanent resident status because when Elias was 11, his mother died of
cancer. When he lost his mother, Elias lost his protected status
without even knowing it.