‘It’s about life and death:’ What Venezuelans may face if the U.S. deports them
Despite the Trump administration’s assertion that Venezuela is now safe for migrants to return, substantial evidence indicates that most holders of Temporary Protected Status would face dire consequences if repatriated. Many could be subject to incarceration, torture or even death at the hands of the same regime they once fled.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday in favor of the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the TPS granted during the Biden era to approximately 350,000 Venezuelans, human rights organizations and political analysts are warning of the grave implications. The decision could lead to forced returns to one of the most repressive, economically devastated, and politically unstable nations in the Western Hemisphere.
“The situation has definitely not improved in Venezuela,” Juanita Goebertus, Americas Director at Human Rights Watch, told the Miami Herald. “On the contrary, following the July 28 elections, repression and political persecution have intensified. We currently have at least 890 political prisoners, including 72 foreigners, and at least 66 missing persons whose whereabouts remain unknown.”
Returning Venezuelans would not only face political persecution but would also reenter a country on the brink of collapse—characterized by soaring inflation and unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.
READ MORE: What the end of TPS means for Venezuelans in the U.S.: Key questions answered
The administration’s justification for ending deportation protections is rooted in the claim that conditions in Venezuela have improved enough to no longer warrant special status. “Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation” of TPS, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The policy was designed to protect migrants from returning to nations plagued by conflict or catastrophe.
Paradoxically, the agency’s notion that Venezuela is now safe appears not to be shared by others in the Trump administration. In a warning released on May 12, the State Department warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela for any reason.
“Do not travel to or remain in Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure. All U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately,” the State Department advisory said.
The Homeland Security decision has been met with confusion and criticism, as mounting evidence suggests that the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated even further since 2023. The Nicolás Maduro regime has intensified its authoritarian grip, driving opposition figures, human rights activists, journalists, and ordinary dissenters either underground or into exile.
“This is very hard to understand,” said David Morán, a former Venezuelan vice minister of Finance who is now in hiding to avoid imprisonment. “Maduro has just executed a coup d’état against the popular will expressed in the last election. He holds the highest number of political prisoners since the start of chavista rule 25 years ago. The only way to interpret this is as an act of complete ignorance.”
For many Venezuelans who fled under threats from the regime, the stakes are especially high. In Venezuela, street protests can result in charges of treason or attempts to overthrow the government—offenses that can carry severe, even fatal, consequences. For asylum seekers, being forced to return under these conditions could be tantamount to a death sentence.
“This isn’t just a matter of political disagreement—it’s about life and death,” said José Antonio Colina, president of a Miami-based Venezuelan exile organization. “No one who has fled Maduro’s regime is safe if forced to return.”
A recent 104-page Human RIghts Watch report titled “Punished for Seeking Change” documents a brutal post-election crackdown by security forces and pro-government paramilitaries known as colectivos. The report alleges widespread fraud in the July 28 election, which handed Maduro another term despite independent vote counts suggesting that opposition leader Edmundo González had won. That result was quickly suppressed through violent repression.
“The Venezuelan government has killed, tortured, detained, and forcibly disappeared people seeking democratic change,” Goebertus stated in the report. “Any government that claims Venezuela is now safe is either ignoring or enabling these abuses.”
According to Morán, nearly all top members of the main opposition party, Vente Venezuela, have either been arrested or forced underground. Even González, the presumed winner of the election, has gone into exile. When he attempted to return for a symbolic inauguration, the regime reportedly threatened to shoot down his plane.
Since the election, more than 2,000 individuals have been arrested, including minors. Dozens of political opponents and protesters have been killed or have vanished. Victims include not only Venezuelan citizens but foreign nationals like Colombian aid worker Manuel Tique and French-American tourist Lucas Hunter, both missing since late 2024.
The humanitarian crisis is compounded by Venezuela’s crumbling infrastructure. Power outages and water shortages are frequent, and inflation has made basic goods inaccessible to many. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, more than five million Venezuelans are facing hunger. Preventable diseases like malaria and measles are spreading amid a collapsed healthcare system. Public services have disintegrated, and violent crime—including kidnappings, armed robberies, and extortion—is widespread.
Human Rights Watch warns that the U.S. decision could trigger a regional domino effect. Latin American countries, already struggling with high numbers of Venezuelan migrants, might follow suit. This could embolden Maduro’s regime and undermine regional stability.
“Maduro is exploiting international cooperation on migration and detainees to legitimize his rule,” the organization noted. Weakening protection for Venezuelan migrants, the group said, “plays directly into the hands of an authoritarian regime.”
With over 7.8 million Venezuelans already displaced, and more preparing to flee, the humanitarian toll of forced returns could be catastrophic.
Ivan Simonovis, a former high-ranking Venezuelan police official who spent 15 years as a political prisoner, noted that while many migrants left in search of better economic opportunities, a significant portion—roughly a third—fled direct persecution.
According to Simonovis, approximately 35% of current asylum seekers participated in anti-government protests between 2012 and 2017. Many were targeted by the regime’s intelligence services or by colectivos, who have been known to execute suspected dissidents in broad daylight.
“They left because they really had no other options,” he said. “Among them are doctors, politicians, journalists, police officers, and even former military personnel—professionals who dared to stand up to the regime.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
