MIAMI.– As the Temporary Protected Status becomes void (TPS) for the Venezuelans On November 7, Venezuelan opposition leaders, Maria Corina Machado and Edmund Gonzalezpresident-elect in 2024, asked the US government for an “urgent review” of the executive measure that left 600,000 Venezuelans in the country without protection.
Consequently, a new status be issued that allows the legal permanence of these immigrants in the USA.
The request was made in a communication that they also addressed to the US Congress and in which they expressed solidarity with the affected Venezuelans who lived and worked under TPS.
“We work day and night to reach that solution,” Machado and González stated in the letter.
Last Friday, the Immigration Service (USCIS) stated in a statement that “Venezuela no longer meets the requirements for its designation for TPS,” following the ruling of the Supreme Court that authorized the termination of the protection mechanism.
Venezuelans without TPS, concern
The top opposition leaders emphasized in their letter the situation of vulnerability to which Venezuelan immigrants who fled their country are exposed in the context of the severe political and economic crisis, and the persecution by the Maduro regime.
They specifically pointed out that, after the July 2024 elections in which González was the winner and which Maduro was unaware of, they are also obliged to guarantee that Venezuelans outside the country can return voluntarily and be protected.
“Being Venezuelan can no longer be synonymous with being a refugee. Therefore, the greatest protection for every Venezuelan, inside and outside of Venezuela, is to recover the freedom of their homeland, the value of their passport and have a democratic government that defends them,” they pointed out.
Future of Immigrants
“We will not rest until Venezuela, our common land, is once again the home of all and the place of reunion for millions of families separated by a criminal regime,” the opposition leaders concluded in the communication.
To date, there has been no official information from NGOs defending migrant rights or immigration lawyers about the fate of those affected.
However, it is believed that the majority of Venezuelans who were left without TPS on November 7 requested asylum, which could extend their legal stay in the United States, while others may do so until January when their work permits expire.
The recent expiration of TPS specifically affected 250,000 Venezuelans who obtained it in 2021, of the 600,000 who remained with status granted by the Biden administration.
The other 350,000 with the protection mechanism since 2023 were exposed to deportation from April 7, 2025.
