Trump rescinds temporary protection for 300 thousand Venezuelans

President Donald Trump's administration canceled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelans in the United States. They may be deported in the coming months.

This was reported by The New York Times.

Revocation of temporary protection for Venezuelans in the United States

According to the newspaper, this is Trump's first move to end such protections in his second term, indicating that he "plans to continue the program's suppression" when he tried to revoke the status of migrants from Sudan, El Salvador, and Haiti. Such actions began during his first term.

The decision is also the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration to tighten the immigration system, including suspending programs that allow migrants to enter the country through previously legal channels and freezing the refugee system.

The article also notes that when the Trump administration first rescinded protections for immigrants from El Salvador and Haiti, officials allowed those affected to maintain their status for another 12 to 18 months before the final rescission.

This time, however, the administration decided to make the changes more quickly. Those under TPS from Venezuela, who received protection in 2023, will lose their temporary status 60 days after the government publishes a notice of termination.

The NYT added that at the time of the decision, more than 300,000 Venezuelans had TPS status until April. Another group of more than 250,000 people had the same status until September and will not be affected by the new decision. However, this indicates that they could be deported in the coming months.

What is the TPS program?

Temporary Protected Status program was created to protect migrants who are unable to return to their countries due to armed conflict, natural disaster, or economic crisis. In recent years, a significant number of Venezuelans have left the country due to political instability under President Nicolas Maduro.

When Joe Biden was President of the United States, his administration faced difficulties with deportations to Venezuela for quite some time, as Maduro's government did not accept deportation flights. However, when Trump came to power, there were changes.

What has changed since Trump came to power?

On Saturday, February 1, Donald Trump announced that Venezuela had agreed to accept all of its illegal migrants who were in the United States.

"Venezuela has also promised to take care of their transportation back. We have begun the process of mass deportation of illegal immigrants from all countries, and all states have agreed to take back their citizens," the U.S. president wrote on social media.

As a reminder, the United States recently suspended the admission of immigrants, including those from Ukraine. This decision will block the entry of immigrants fleeing some of the most unstable and dangerous places in the world.

In addition, Mexico blocked a deportation plane from the United States after the introduction of restrictive immigration measures by the U.S.