Trump rolls back deportation protections for thousands of Venezuelans. Here’s what that means
The Trump administration’s decision to revoke the recent extension of Temporary Protected Status granted to Venezuelans by former President Joe Biden could affect hundreds of thousands living and working in the United States, setting the stage for possible deportations.
Here is a look at some of the key questions and answers about the issue.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is a federal program that gives temporary deportation protections and work permits to people in the United States from countries in turmoil. The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to designate a country for TPS. Besides Venezuela, countries that currently also have the status include El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nicaragua and Ukraine, among others. To qualify, people must have been in the United States before a certain cutoff date that Homeland Security sets when it announces the designation.
When was Venezuela designated for TPS status?
The Biden administration first designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status in March 2021, a decision that was widely celebrated in South Florida. In October 2023, Biden created a second designation for Venezuela that included an additional half-million people.
How many people could be affected by the Trump Administration’s decision?
There are 505,400 approved beneficiaries of TPS under the Venezuela designation, according to December 2024 data from the Congressional Research Service. That is the largest number of people with TPS in the United States, more than half of the total of just over 1 million as of December 2024. (The second largest group is Haitians, with 260,790, followed by El Salvador, 174,190; Honduras, 52,585 and Ukraine, 63,425.) A significant number of Venezuelans with TPS were convinced by immigration lawyers to abandon their lengthy or stalled political asylum petitions and take advantage of the more immediate protections offered by the temporary status.
What happens next?
A key moment will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1, when the administration is expected to issue new rules that could include an extension of the current TPS status. If there is no extension, the current status will end for some Venezuelans in April and for others in September, depending on whether they fall under the 2021 or 2023 designation.
What would determine the month of expiration for the protection?
Those who received the protection status in 2021 will have it until September. Those who received in 2023 will keep it until the end of April.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem can make a decision in February for Venezuelans who got TPS in 2023, and again in July for those who got it in 2021, about whether to grant any extensions. If she makes no decision, the designations are automatically extended for another six months, according to a Homeland Security memo. But if Noem finds Venezuela no longer qualifies for TPS, she can terminate the designations.
Are April and September definitively the final months of the Venezuelan TPS?
No, Noem can decide to extend both designations.
What does it all mean for TPS beneficiaries as of right now?
Those who have TPS they are protected for the moment, until the status expires. This means they can continue to live and work while seeking legal ways to stay in the U.S. There is also a near-certain probability that the Trump administration’s decision will be challenged in federal court.
What options do TPS beneficiaries have at this point?
They can seek new legal paths towards obtaining legal residency. As its name implies, TPS has always been meant to be temporary, allowing beneficiaries to stay while seeking a more permanent solution, such as labor certification or political asylum if they can demonstrate they have a “credible fear” of persecution if they are returned to Venezuela. However, asylum cases can take years in the immigration courts, which are heavily backlogged.
What are the chances that Venezuelans who have applied for asylum will be able to stay in the U.S.?
Venezuelans are among the nationals with the highest percentage of asylum claims approved in the United States. Political and economic conditions in the South American country have not changed — or have worsened — since the original TPS designations.
What happens if TPS for Venezuelans ends permanently?
Should Noem terminate the TPS designations, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States could suddenly find themselves vulnerable to deportations over the next months. This could have a devastating effect in Florida’s immigrant communities. Florida is home to the largest population of TPS holders out of any state. Nearly sixty percent of Venezuelan TPS holders live here.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
