Trump ends temporary protection for 250,000 Venezuelan migrants
2 Min Read
The US administration’s decision could leave hundreds of thousands without legal status and force them back into unsafe conditions.
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Venezuelan migrants are seen on a boat leaving Gardi Sugdub on Panama's Caribbean coast on February 23, 2025 (AP)
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 250,000 Venezuelan migrants, reversing a humanitarian measure introduced in 2021, The Washington Post reported.
A spokesperson for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the TPS program had acted as a “magnet” for irregular migration. The official noted that the loss of legal status may take effect within two months.
Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson, stated, “After taking into account considerations of public safety, national security, immigration, economic policy, and foreign policy, it is clear that allowing Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is not in America’s interest.”
Legal, political background
The TPS designation for Venezuelans was due to expire on September 10. The administration had the choice to renew it or let it lapse. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security could proceed with ending TPS for a separate group of Venezuelans, while related legal challenges continue in lower courts.
This case now rests with a federal judge whose ruling could affect all 600,000 Venezuelans currently holding TPS in the United States.
Rights groups respond
Amy MacLean, senior attorney with the ACLU of Northern California and representative of the National TPS Alliance in two lawsuits against the Trump administration’s TPS terminations, emphasized the legal stakes, saying, “If the district court again recognizes, as it has before, the illegality of the administration’s actions, then their protected humanitarian status should be restored. Currently, they are left without status because of the administration’s actions and the Supreme Court’s willingness to allow those terminations despite their illegality.”
The decision could reshape the lives of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have built families, communities, and careers in the United States under TPS. Advocates warn that removing protections now would expose them to danger if forced to return and destabilize communities across the US.
