A Dream Endangered: South Florida’s Venezuelans Unite to Fight TPS Revocation

MIAMI — Armed with resilience and hope, members of South Florida’s Venezuelan community gathered outside the El Arepazo restaurant in Doral Feb. 3, to protest against the Trump administration's decision to end the extension of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.

This action impacts more than 300,000 of the 600,000 Venezuelans with TPS in the U.S., according to ABC News.

The permission for Venezuelans with TPS status to stay in the US will expire on April 7, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem decided, according to a brief press release by US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Among those affected is Elena Villarreal, 24, a college student who received TPS under the 2023 designation after being persecuted by the Venezuelan regime for advocating freedom of speech in student protests.

Villarreal attended the protest last week to send a message of solidarity and resistance to the Venezuelan community.

“Society can judge us, ignore us, hurt us, and oppress us, but silencing a voice does not erase the hope,” she said, waving a little Venezuelan flag. “We won't surrender, not now. This is not a fight for acceptance, it is a battle for justice.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services describes Temporary Protected Status as an immigration program that grants temporary legal status and work authorization to nationals of certain countries facing extraordinary circumstances, such as armed conflict, natural disasters or other dangerous situations.

TPS does not provide a path to permanent residency, but it allows immigrants to stay in the US legally for a designated period. Other Latin American countries whose citizens are eligible for TPS are Honduras and Nicaragua. South Florida is home to America’s largest number of migrants from Haiti, whose citizens are also eligible for TPS. The Miami-Dade County Commission passed a resolution Feb. 4 urging the Trump administration to leave TPS designations currently in place.

For some Venezuelan immigrants, like Pedro Perez, 45, a Venezuelan engineer who now works as an Uber driver, this is enough to escape the hardships of Maduro’s regime.

Perez attended the protest to defend his family's stability, as he works in the U.S. to send money to Venezuela, where his wife and daughter reside.

“My daughter is diabetic, and insulin in Venezuela is expensive. At least with the money I earn, I can keep my daughter alive another day,” he said with tearful eyes. 

Venezuelans became eligible for TPS in March 2021 due to Venezuela’s political and economic crisis, which caused widespread poverty, violence, and shortages of essential goods. 

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has identified more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2014, according to the Associated Press, calling it "one of the largest international displacement crises in the world.”

In 2023, the U.S. government extended and revised TPS for Venezuelans, making it available to more recent arrivals.

President Joe Biden extended TPS for nationals of Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan on Jan. 10, during his last days in office. The extension granted an additional 18 months of protection until October 2026.

“It was a moment of happiness for my family in such uncertain times,” he added.

Holding his head, Perez said that the extension made him see a light at the end of the tunnel, as he could continue to support his daughter. 

That light didn’t last long.

Noem, a Trump ally and former governor of South Dakota, officially terminated TPS for Venezuelans under the 2023 designation, which was set to expire on April 2, The New York Times reported on Feb. 2. Noem said that permitting the covered Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is against the national interest, asserting that individuals from Venezuela are criminals affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang (TDA).

"The future scares me because I don't know if my daughter will be in it," Peres stated with sadness in his eyes while sitting on the sidewalk. 

The termination is set to take effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register on Feb. 5. Venezuelans who registered under the 2021 TPS designation will keep their protections until Sept. 10, 2025.

Noem contends that conditions in Venezuela have improved enough to justify ending Temporary Protected Status, the AP reported.

However, during the protest’s press conference, Helén Villalonga, president of the Multicultural Association of Activists Voice and Expression (Amavex), denied Noem’s claim that conditions in Venezuela have improved.

 “All the violations of rights in Venezuela that have been taking place for years, but which have become more entrenched in recent years, are enough to show that there has been no change in Venezuela,” she said. “On the contrary, every time a Venezuelan raises their voice to question the Maduro regime, it becomes a reason for innocent individuals to be imprisoned, tortured, raped, or massacred.”

Secretary Noem also argued that TPS has been misused to allow individuals without a legal immigration pathway to settle in the U.S., citing members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a key group entering the country, according to CBS News.

This drew criticism from the Venezuelan community, as many felt the government portrayed all TPS recipients as criminals or gang members.

Fernando Blasi, 48, an organizer of the protest and chief executive of Intercorp political consulting in Miami, confronted the narrative portraying Venezuelan TPS recipients as criminals.

 “Out of the 900,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., only about 600 TPS recipients have ties to El Tren de Aragua. That is just 0.04% of the U.S. Venezuelan community,” he said.

This argument was supported by NBC News, which reported that the Department of Homeland Security has identified more than 600 migrants within the U.S. Venezuelan community who may have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, with 100 individuals confirmed as members.

Blasi also emphasized that applying for TPS is an extensive process that requires applicants to undergo multiple evaluations, including biometric screenings, fingerprinting, and background checks.

“It’s not as simple as submitting an application and getting a work permit the next day. To be eligible, applicants must have a clear criminal record,” Blasi added.

In response to the situation, the Venezuelan community and advocacy groups decided to take legal action, asserting that the termination breaches procedural standards and disregards the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Venezuela. These lawsuits seek to contest the legality of the termination and push for the reinstatement of TPS protections for Venezuelans. 

The resolution of these legal battles will hinge on judicial interpretations of executive authority, compliance with administrative protocols, and evaluations of the situation in Venezuela.

In the end, the Venezuelan community is deeply frustrated and disheartened that President Trump played with their hopes and dreams.

After Trump refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of the July 2024 reelection, many Venezuelans saw him as a beacon of light. Even though they couldn’t vote for him, they supported his stance against Maduro’s dictatorship, believing he would help bring about change.

However, Trump’s recent actions—including collaborating with the Venezuelan regime and revoking the TPS extension—have shattered the expectations of many Venezuelans who once trusted his vision. Many Venezuelan-Americans who voted for him now express dismay. When he said he would deport undocumented immigrants, they didn't think he meant people with TPS, whose presence in the country is by definition documented. Protests in South Florida are expected to continue.