The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday that they are ending the 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela, according to a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
Under President Biden, Venezuela received two TPS designations. The first was in 2021, which has now been terminated, and the second was in 2023. That designation was already ended on April 7, 2023, by the Trump administration.
“Given Venezuela’s substantial role in driving irregular migration and the clear magnet effect created by Temporary Protected Status, maintaining or expanding TPS for Venezuelan nationals directly undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to secure our southern border and manage migration effectively,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson added, “Weighing public safety, national security, migration factors, immigration policy, economic considerations, and foreign policy, it’s clear that allowing Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is not in America’s best interest.”
With this decision, about 268,156 Venezuelan nationals living in the U.S. under TPS will lose their status and no longer be allowed to stay in the country legally, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In addition, 3,738 pending initial applications and 102,935 pending renewal applications will also be terminated.
The TPS designation is set to expire on September 10, 2025, with the termination taking effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
Earlier this year, when the 2023 TPS designation was ended, about 348,000 Venezuelans also lost their protection and were required to prepare to leave the U.S.
This latest move follows a Fox News Digital report that the FBI found some Venezuelan officials may be helping members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang migrate to the U.S.
On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused President Donald Trump and the U.S. of trying to push for a “regime change through military threat” after the Trump administration boosted naval forces in the region.
Maduro said, “Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years. A situation like this has never been seen.”
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed on “Fox & Friends” that the U.S. military carried out a Caribbean strike against a Venezuelan drug boat, killing 11 suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists.
