Department of Homeland Security Ends TPS for Venezuelan Immigrants

President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation that was established by former President Joe Biden in 2021. This move affects hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants currently residing in the United States.

This week, DHS Executive Director Kristi Noem stated that the TPS will be discontinued by September 10th for nearly 270,000 Venezuelans who lack other legal status in the country.

Matthew Tragesser, a representative for USCIS, commented on this development:

The significant role of Venezuela in promoting irregular migration, combined with the attraction created by temporary protected status, means that either maintaining or extending TPS for Venezuelan citizens goes against the Trump administration’s goals to secure the southern borders and manage migration effectively.

It’s essential to balance public safety, national security, immigration issues, economic factors, and foreign policy. Clearly, allowing Venezuelan citizens to remain in the U.S. temporarily does not align with America’s best interests.

DHS officials are advising Venezuelan immigrants to use the CBP Home Mobile app to inform about their departure from the U.S., which offers a free one-way trip back to Venezuela along with a $1,000 exit bonus.

This decision is part of a broader trend, as the Trump administration has already ended another TPS designation impacting over 300,000 Venezuelans in the country.

During Biden’s presidency, TPS rose to unprecedented levels, with previous administrations providing some level of protection to more than 1 million immigrants expected to be covered by early 2025.

The TPS was first established through the Immigration Act of 1990, shielding immigrants from deportation when they are facing hunger, conflict, or natural disasters.

Since the Clinton administration, TPS has effectively functioned as a form of amnesty, with multiple administrations, including those of Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, continuously updating their policies for various countries.

Since February, Trump has revoked TPS for immigrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Haiti, and others.