Trump admin revokes protected status extension for Venezuelan nationals

President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Wednesday that the administration had terminated a Temporary Protected Status extension for Venezuelan nationals.

TPS shields foreign nationals from deportation based on temporary conditions — such as armed conflicts and natural disasters — in their country of origin. Under TPS, eligible foreign nationals cannot be deported and can obtain employment and travel authorization.

'Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people.'

Former President Joe Biden’s administration provided TPS to migrants from a number of nations, including Venezuela, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Honduras.

With just 10 days left in Biden’s presidency, former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced an 18-month extension to TPS for Ukraine, Sudan, El Salvador, and Venezuela.

The last-minute extension would have granted Venezuelan nationals deportation protections until October 2026.

Mayorkas contended that the extension was necessary due to “conditions in Venezuela,” stating that the country has experienced food insecurity, a lack of access to basic services, a health crisis, political repression, and criminal activity.

However, on Tuesday, Noem vacated Mayorkas’ notice for Venezuela. The existing extensions are slated to expire in April and September.

Noem stated that the DHS is required to decide at regular intervals whether to extend protections. She argued that Mayorkas’ last-minute extension was announced too early “given the exceedingly brief period” since the initial issue date.

The New York Times reported that Noem’s decision could impact more than 600,000 Venezuelan nationals currently residing in the U.S.

A DHS official told the Times that Mayorkas’ extension appeared to be an effort to tie the Trump administration’s hands.

Noem must decide by Saturday whether she would like to issue her own TPS extension. If she does not decide by then, TPS for Venezuelans will be extended for another six months.

Noem told Fox News, “Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people that are on temporary protected status, which meant that they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months.”

“We stopped that,” she declared.

The influx of Venezuelan nationals arriving in the U.S. has brought with it the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua. The notorious group has been linked to crimes across the nation, including apartment takeovers in Colorado. The Trump administration has pledged to prioritize removing these dangerous offenders from the streets.

Noem joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on their first raids in New York City, where officers captured a TDA gang leader who was captured on surveillance video storming through an Aurora, Colorado, apartment complex in August with other armed men.

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