Protections For Venezuelans Living In The U.S.

What is this announcement and what does it do?  

On February 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) vacated a January 10, 2025, decision of the former DHS Secretary regarding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain Venezuelan nationals. TPS is a humanitarian program that grants eligible nationals of designated countries temporary protection from deportation and authorization to work in the United States due to conditions preventing safe return to their home countries. During its term, the Biden administration designated two groups of Venezuelans for TPS – once in 2021 and again in 2023. The vacatur only impacts the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation, which as a result of this decision will once again be sent to expire on April 2, 2025.

This decision will be accompanied by a termination notice on February 5, 2025. This means that 60 days from the publication of that notice, on April 6, 2025, the group of 2023 Venezuela TPS designees will lose protections. Therefore, this decision has major implications for their continued protections from deportation and ability to keep their work authorizations. 

Who is Impacted By this Announcement?

This decision primarily affects Venezuelan nationals who obtained TPS under the 2023 designation. Affected individuals will lose their deportation protections and work permits 60 days after the federal government publishes the termination notice in the Federal Registers, likely some time in early April 2025. It is estimated that more than 300,000 Venezuelans would be impacted.

While this decision does not generally impact the approximately 250,000 Venezuelans who are part of the 2021 TPS designation, it may signal the administration’s strong intention to end those protections as well.  That group is set to expire in September 2025, with a decision on the future of the designation expected in July 2025 (60 days before expiration). This notice, however, does not decide that question. 

When will people start losing TPS protections? 

Affected individuals from the 2023 Venezuela TPS cohort will lose their deportation protections and work permits 60 days after the federal government publishes the termination notice. As of now, the exact publication date has not been specified but it is widely expected to be some time in early April 2025.

Note: It is important to note that some individuals with TPS have also sought other forms of humanitarian relief, such as asylum. Those claims should continue to move forward notwithstanding any TPS revocation. In most cases individuals with pending asylum claims may also be able to apply for work authorization under a different classification.

Will Venezuelans start losing parole protections?

Recent media reports suggest that the administration may soon announce that it will immediately terminate existing humanitarian parole for people who entered the United States through the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans (CHNV) or Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) sponsorship programs. If this occurs, parolees who do not already have another status, such as TPS, or who do not already have a pending application for TPS or asylum, will be considered by the administration to be out of status and unauthorized to be in the U.S. In these cases, parolees may be prioritized for removal from the U.S., as hinted at in the DHS memorandum on expedited removal issued on January 23, 2025. All individuals/families with humanitarian parole status should seek advice from a competent immigration attorney immediately and should work with a competent immigration attorney to seek alternative status immediately, such as TPS or asylum, if eligible. 

How Does this Termination Interact with Other Trump Immigration Policies?

The termination of TPS for Venezuelan nationals is a significant component of the Trump administration’s comprehensive strategy to reform U.S. immigration policy. To be clear this action is intertwined with several other policy measures aimed at severely restricting immigration. 

• Ending CHNV Parole Processes. As part of this Day 1 executive orders, Trump rescinded the humanitarian parole program that permitted nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the United States legally. DHS has said that it plans to revoke parole status for CHNV nationals who have failed to apply for, or obtain, another immigration benefit by issuing them Notices to Appear in removal proceedings. Several CHNV parolees, including from the 2023 Venezuela cohort, had turned to TPS to ensure more durable protections. This decision removes those protections.
• Expansion of Expedited Removal Procedures. January 23, 2025, DHS, consistent with Trump’s Day 1 executive orders, broadened the scope of “expedited removal” – a process that generally enables rapid deportation of undocumented individuals without a court hearing. Concerningly, this expansion heightens the risk of fast removals of those losing parole or TPS protections, as the DHS guidance expressly directs immigration officers to determine if these individuals are amenable for expedited removal. 
• Leveraging Detention Facilities in Guantanamo. Trump has mandated the expansion of detention facilities to accommodate the anticipated increase in detainees, including those resulting from the termination of programs like TPS and CHNV parole. On January 29, 2025, the White House issued a directive “Expanding Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to Full Capacity” in support of this objective.  According to reports, the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay could house up to 30,000 migrants. 
• Negotiations with Venezuela for Deportation Flights. In conjunction with these decisions, the Trump administration has engaged in discussions with the Venezuelan government to facilitate the return of deported Venezuelans. Maduro’s regime has reportedly agreed to accept deportation flights from the U.S. This is a particularly concerning development given the political unrest in Venezuela.