Venezuelans on TPS became collateral damage in Miami-Dade’s support for Trump’s agenda | Opinion

Make no mistake: The news on Wednesday that the Trump administration was rescinding an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans is exactly what Miami-Dade County voted for when it backed the president in last year’s election.

Sure, Trump’s immigration platform barely mentioned TPS — it was mostly focused on what he described as an “invasion” of migrants and painting people in the country illegally as threats to national security who need to be deported en masse. Most Americans were likely concerned about a minority of those migrants who have criminal records, not the people who received protected status because they come from countries in turmoil, as is the case of Venezuela under dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Most of Miami-Dade voters might not have been thinking of the 505,400 approved TPS recipients from Venezuela as a “threat.” With one of the largest Venezuelan communities in the state, South Florida has gotten used to calling Doral by its nickname, “Doralzuela,” and seeing the country’s flag displayed at protests calling for the end of Maduro’s rule. Florida has the largest population of TPS holders in the country and almost 60% of them are from Venezuela, the Herald reported.

Venezuelans on TPS are collateral damage from Trump’s extreme immigration agenda — one that this county, built in large part by immigrants fleeing oppression, voted for by an 11-point margin in the 2024 election. If hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans lose their TPS, the implications for South Florida probably will be easy to spot. These are workers, renters, shoppers and maybe even business owners Miami-Dade would lose.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to rescind an 18-month extension of TPS for Venezuela is certainly going to cause panic in parts of Miami-Dade. Her decision is most likely going to be challenged in court.

Former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had decided to extend the program before President Joe Biden left office. TPS, as its name indicates, is meant to be temporary, though the Homeland Security secretary can extend. It is also meant to address “conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Such conditions have gotten only worse in Venezuela since Maduro stole a presidential election. Other countries eligible for the program include Haiti and Nicaragua.

Mayorkas’ decision had made it possible for Venezuelans to renew their TPS status through October 2026, the Herald reported. With Noem’s reversal, some Venezuelans will keep their TPS status through April and others through at least September, depending on when they were first eligible for the program. Noem will now have to determine by February and July whether to issue another extension. If she doesn’t, the designations are automatically renewed for six months, but if she finds Venezuela no longer qualifies for TPS, she can terminate the designations, the Herald reported.

If that happens, should South Florida expect to see Venezuelans being rounded up in deportation raids, leaving empty homes and workplaces behind? What would be the social and economic implications?

It should be the job of Miami’s Republican members of Congress — who staunchly supported Trump but who also represent some of the areas of the country most impacted by TPS — to explain that to the White House.

U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami told the Herald in a statement that she supports TPS for Venezuelans and offered what she misguidedly called “a simple solution to this: Maduro has to go! Trump is the only force to get him out. Once Maduro is gone — there will be peace for Venezuelans... and this will allow Venezuelans to safely return to live with freedom in their homeland.”

Except Maduro already survived one Trump presidency and rounds of economic sanctions. The future of hundreds of thousands of people should not rest on the far-away possibility of regime change. South Florida needs leadership in this moment and that includes strong advocates for our Venezuelan community.

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