The Walt Disney Company has placed some of its employees on unpaid leave as nearly fifty Venezuelan workers in Florida face the risk of losing their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) next month.
According to Bloomberg, Disney informed staff on Tuesday that their employment will end soon, following a Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to revoke protections for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans residing in the U.S.
The affected employees began 30 days of unpaid leave starting May 20th, and Disney has indicated that those who cannot present new job approval by the end of this period will be let go.
A Disney representative shared with Fox Business that around 45 cast members have opted for this leave. “As I navigated this complex situation, I took leave with benefits to ensure that our employees didn’t breach any laws,” the spokesperson explained. They also expressed a commitment to supporting the well-being of those grappling with the changing immigration landscape.
This development follows a Supreme Court decision made on Monday to lift an earlier injunction that had prevented Trump from ending protected legal status for numerous immigrants in the U.S.
The ruling underscores the administration’s intent to move away from Biden-era TPS protections for many Venezuelan immigrants. It also means that plans to deport these immigrants may now proceed.
Before this, Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem had recently terminated TPS for specific Venezuelan groups in February, despite the Biden administration’s earlier extensions based on national interest concerns.
In March, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled in favor of maintaining protection for TPS, highlighting the need for monitoring and suggesting that terminating the program had implications worth considering.
Originally instituted in the 1990s, the TPS allows the U.S. government to designate countries deemed unsafe for their citizens’ return. It currently protects those already holding U.S. work permits from deportation due to illegal status or expired legal documentation.
In 2021, the Biden administration expanded TPS to include Venezuelans who had entered the U.S. illegally due to the severe economic crisis back home. Prior to this, Trump had enacted significant sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s administration but faced bipartisan pressure to grant TPS during his first term without following through.
In January 2021, Trump introduced a deferred enforcement departure program to shield Venezuelan citizens from deportation for 18 months.
