The Trump administration is ending a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S., paving the way for their removal just as President Donald Trump has secured an agreement with Venezuela to accept deported nationals. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that more than 300,000 Venezuelans who were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2023 will now have their protections revoked.
According to The New York Times, which first reported the details, affected individuals will lose their temporary status 60 days after the official government notice is published. TPS provides protection from deportation and work permits for nationals from countries deemed unsafe for return. In the final days of the Biden administration, then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine for an additional 18 months.
Had this extension remained in place, the Trump administration’s efforts to deport large numbers of individuals from those countries could have been complicated. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last week that the extension for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would be revoked, effectively ending the status for those granted protection under the 2023 designation. However, those protected by the 2021 designation will not be affected.
Republicans have long criticized the program, arguing that it has been applied too broadly. By the end of the Biden administration, 17 countries had been granted TPS status. The first Trump administration scaled back the use of TPS and has indicated that a second Trump administration would continue to limit the program’s scope.
During the peak of the border crisis from 2021 to 2024, Venezuelans comprised one of the largest groups of migrants entering the United States. Many also arrived through a separate parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, which the Trump administration has since discontinued. On Saturday, Trump announced that an agreement had been reached with Venezuela to repatriate its illegal immigrants. Venezuela began accepting illegal immigrants in 2023 but stopped doing so in early 2024.
“…Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back. We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back.” Meanwhile, Noem visited the southern border on Sunday, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently touring Latin America. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will head to the southern border on Monday, Fox News reported.
