Donald Trump’s posture change towards Venezuelan immigrants has turned 180 degrees in the last four years. Shortly before leaving the White House in 2021, the Republican signed an executive order to protect them from deportation, but the executive order signed this week by its Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, ends the extension of the special protection status ( TPS) for a community of around 600,000 people from Venezuela. The withdrawal of the extension, decreed by the administration of Biden days before Trump’s investiture, could end up disputing in court.
“Surely there will be a lawsuit against the decision because there are very strong arguments that prevent Trump from undoing what his predecessor already did. Venezuelans with TPS have a very strong base to continue here with their work permit. Trump can say one thing, but that does not mean that it will happen, ”explains Matt Adams, legal director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, for Telemundo. The Republican had already tried to eliminate the TPS from several countries such as El Salvador, Haiti and Sudan, during his first term, but his intentions were blocked by the Court.
In this sense, any judicial action against the measure announced by the secretary Noem must wait for the term (February 5) so that the official confirms its decision, change or establish new conditions. The TPS of Venezuelans had been extended three times before Trump’s return to the White House. The first of them allowed them to remain in the country until March 2024. The second, until April and September 2025, depending on the date on which they were added to the program; and the third (now annulled) guaranteed them legal stay until October 2, 2026. However, not everything is lost for those affected with this decision of the new administration.
Double status
Thousands of the 600,000 Venezuelans who have TPS also have asylum requests accepted by the immigration authorities that guarantee them a legal status in the United States. Even the Biden administration extended from two to five years the validity of the labor authorizations of immigrants with asylum status, in September 2023, with the aim of significantly reducing the number of new forms that the immigration and citizenship service (USCIS, for its acronym in English), I would receive in the future. This is how many Venezuelans have work permits until 2028.
For all those who only had TPS, the asylum appears as plan A, but the response times have been dilated, and without the reception of the process by the authorities cannot count on the temporal residence and the work permit. On the other hand, if they married an American citizen or if they have a job offer, they can process some type of residence, as long as they have legally entered the country. Venezuelans who entered irregularly could face inconveniences in their change in status.
What will happen to the work permits that will lose the TPS?
The work permits granted will remain in force at the moment. “They will be until a court determines whether this action is legal or not. The Trump administration will try to say that everything is immediately annulled, but I am sure that at the same time judicial demands will be introduced that denounced the measure as unconstitutional. These immigrants have already made their plans with the support of the US government, which has given them the assurance that they would be here 18 more months, and this unilateral action, without a change of conditions in Venezuela, is outside the Constitution ” , says constitutional lawyer Rafael Peñalver.
For her part, the president and executive director of the National Imigration Forum, Jennie Murray, has denounced that this measure threatens the protection and authorization of work of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. “We are talking about thousands of people who are currently contributing and working legally. The Secretary Noem should extend the protections for Venezuelans and provide certainty to US communities and companies, ”said the representative of the Immigrant Rights Defender Organization. Civil society organizations would be waiting for the confirmation of the decision to proceed judicially.
Who are today at risk of deportation?
While the TPS has not expired, and the case is not defined in court, the beneficiaries would be protected. However, the anti -immigrant tone with which the current government acts is questioning the rule of law. “The concept of what is legal is being lost, of what is constitutional. The Trump administration is acting as an authoritarian regime where there are no parameters that stop it. A president normally allows before implementing an action, the affected people are allowed to take judicial resources, but with the way he is acting, it is very possible that tomorrow he will take people, mount them in a plane and try to send them to Venezuela . From my point of view, this is totally illegal, ”Peñalver concluded in statements to NBC. Nicolás Maduro has been in favor of receiving deportation flights in an attempt to approach Trump.
Everything indicates that only a coming judicial decision will be able to get Venezuelans out of uncertainty. Migratory experts explain that the expulsion process is not immediate. It can be appealed to carry out a voluntary return. This is a recurring concern because many Venezuelans have been living in the United States for years, they have bought a home, they have American children, links with the community, a life that they cannot give up from one day to another.
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