Home United States Trump Administration Revokes Protected Status For Venezuelans In US

Trump Administration Revokes Protected Status For Venezuelans In US

President Donald Trump took office on January 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programmes he says go beyond the intent of U.S. law.

The Trump administration has rescinded a deportation protection extension granted by its predecessor to over 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S., according to a New York Times report on Tuesday citing the decision.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded a Biden administration move to grant Venezuelans in the U.S. an additional 18 months of deportation relief and access to work permits through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme, according to the New York Times.

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

President Donald Trump, a Republican, took office on January 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programmes he says go beyond the intent of U.S. law. Trump tried to end most TPS enrollment during his first term but was stymied by federal courts.

TPS is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, greatly expanded the programme and it now covers more than 1 million people from 17 nations.

Venezuela TPS Extension

Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the Venezuela extension a week and a half before Trump took office, even though existing protections for Venezuelans did not expire until April for some enrollees and September for others. He also extended TPS to people from El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan.


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The New York Times reported that Noem’s rollback of the extension requires her to decide what to do with protections expiring in April by Saturday or have them automatically renew for six months.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Temporary Protected Status

The Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, programme grants eligible Venezuelans in the U.S. relief from deportation and work authorisation due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

Initially introduced under the Biden administration, TPS acknowledges conditions such as political instability, economic collapse, and human rights violations that make return unsafe.

(With inputs from Reuters)