Returning to Venezuela is 'not an option,' say many in Florida with Temporary Protected Status

MIAMI – February 5 started like any other day for 39-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Pedro Luis Lopez. He woke up at 5 a.m., had some eggs for breakfast, and headed to his physically demanding job as a pool installer.

“Being here is God’s will. That’s why, despite being a certified naval engineer in Venezuela, any honest job is good enough to help my family, even working as a janitor,” he said.

However, after a long day of hauling heavy bags of cement under Florida’s boiling sun, Lopez came home to learn that he would soon have to leave the United States, as the Trump administration had terminated the extension of the 2023 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, reverting the expiration date from October 2, 2026, to April 2, 2025.

The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a humanitarian program that offers limited legal status to individuals coming from countries experiencing extreme conditions such as poverty, war or dictatorships. 

For two months, nearly 350,000 Venezuelans faced the same fear as Lopez, not knowing whether they could continue pursuing the American dream or be forced to return to the dictatorship in Venezuela.

“I wasn’t going to stay in the U.S. illegally, so I was already packing my life into a bag…hoping that my next destination would give me the liberty and peace my home didn’t offer,” Lopez expressed while sipping his Starbucks coffee at a local Miami mall.

That uncertainty finally ended on March 31, when U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen temporarily blocked the administration’s decision to revoke the extension of the 2023 TPS designation, upholding the expiration date of Oct. 2, 2026. The ruling also refuted several of the claims made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to justify the decision. 

One of these statements was that TPS Venezuelan holders were damaging the economy by increasing the scarcity of resources and shelters in local communities, taking jobs from U.S. citizens, driving down wages, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars at all levels of government.

Lopez said that this is not true, because the Venezuelan immigrants had the principle that hard work is the only way to achieve their goals. 

“Everything I have in my life is because of my hard work,” Lopez stated as tossed his coffee cup in the trash. “I grew up with the belief that to thrive in life, you have to constantly fight for your dreams without depending on others.”

This argument is sustained by the March ruling, which shows that Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries maintain high labor force participation rates (80-96%), earn nearly all of their personal income (96%), contribute billions of dollars annually to the U.S. economy, and pay hundreds of millions in Social Security taxes.

Noem also argued that the Venezuelan TPS endangered public safety by allowing members of the Venezuelan regime-funded gang, El Tren de Aragua, to enter the U.S. legally.

Carlos Zurita, 56, a Venezuelan family man who also was saved from deportation by Judge Chen’s decision, said that society only knows a part of the story.

“I’m not a criminal. I didn’t leave my country because I wanted to, I was forced to by a repressive government that kills people for thinking differently,” he said while waiting for his younger son to come out of Cypress Bay High School in Weston.

Judge Chen asserted in his ruling that there is no evidence linking Venezuelan TPS holders to gangs or criminal activity. In fact, documented immigrants have higher levels of education than most U.S. citizens 46% have at least a bachelor's degree, according the Migration Policy Institute, compared to 36% of US-born Americans. They are also less likely to commit crime than U.S.-born individuals.

Moreover, TPS recipients must pass an extensive criminal background check to qualify, and stay out of legal trouble to maintain their status.

“People think the TPS process is as easy as getting a Trump Gold Card, where you pay the price and obtain a legal status. In reality, even the smallest mistake can take everything you’ve worked for away,” Zurita added.

For now, Zurita is grateful that he at least has one more year to map a plan for his family. 

“I have to reconsider my options, either change my status or immigrate again. However, returning to Venezuela is not an option because my connections with the opposition put the integrity of my family at risk,” he said. 

Returning to Venezuela is not an option for many TPS holders, especially for those who have experienced the government's repression tactics firsthand.

One of these individuals is Mauricio Prato, 25, who recently graduated with a business administration from Florida International University.

Prato came to the United States when he was a teenager but had already spent years witnessing how the streets of his hometown, Lechería, in the state of Anzoátegui, were stained with the blood of students protesting for freedom.

“There are some scars that will never heal from growing up in such a violent and deadly environment. Still, a bad experience doesn't define the path of my life,” Prato said. 

Noem said that another reason for eliminating the TPS extension was that conditions in Venezuela were optimal for nationals to return, citing improvements in economy, public health and crime.

In response, Prato compared this to trying to “hide the sun behind a thumb.”

“For almost 26 years, the Venezuelan community has fought the dictatorship led by Nicolás Maduro and the late Hugo Chávez. Where was the U.S. government and the international community when all of this happened? It’s not that hard to see and learn about the reality Venezuela is suffering,” he added, with disappointment in his voice.

On Jan. 17, in the waning days of the Biden administration, then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended the 2023 TPS designation. He noted that Venezuela is experiencing a complex, serious and multidimensional humanitarian crisis that disrupts every aspect of life. 

This statement was supported by the March 31 ruling, which highlighted that Noem failed to provide concrete evidence showing improvements in Venezuela. Meanwhile, expert declarations submitted by the plaintiffs demonstrated that political, humanitarian and economic conditions in Venezuela remained critical.

The U.S. State Department classifies Venezuela as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” country due to dangerous conditions, including wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping and poor health infrastructure.

Reflecting on the situation, Prato believes that Judge Chen’s decision is more than just a legal process in the eyes of the Venezuelan community, it represents a beacon of hope.

“With the harsh immigration initiatives taken by the Trump administration, and the fraudulent declaration of victory by Nicolás Maduro in the July 28, 2024 election, we believed the war for freedom was over,” he said in an interview in his home. “Nevertheless, the fire within people’s hearts ignited again after our stories and realities were exposed to the world thanks to Judge Chen’s decision, showing what Venezuelans represent.”