Washington, D.C. — The Trump administration has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 256,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, a move that will end deportation protections and work permits granted under the program.
TPS, first introduced for Venezuelans by President Joe Biden in 2021 and expanded in 2023, shielded eligible migrants from removal while granting them the right to work legally. But in a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the program no longer aligns with U.S. national interests.
“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,” a DHS spokesperson said.
The administration argued that TPS has become a “magnet” for irregular migration, undermining its efforts to secure the southern border. DHS said the program will officially expire on September 10, though the termination takes effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Pending applications—including more than 3,700 new requests and over 102,000 renewals—will be canceled. To encourage voluntary departure, officials said Venezuelans who register their exit via the CBP Home app will be offered a free flight, a $1,000 incentive, and the possibility of “future immigration opportunities.”
The announcement comes after the Supreme Court upheld DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s authority to revoke TPS despite ongoing legal challenges. In April, Trump had already rescinded Biden’s 2023 TPS expansion that had protected roughly 348,000 Venezuelans.
The decision also follows heightened tensions with Caracas. Just a day earlier, Trump confirmed a U.S. strike on a Venezuelan drug vessel, claiming 11 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang were killed. “You’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a drug-carrying boat,” Trump said, warning traffickers: “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the TPS termination and the increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, calling it “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”
With TPS protections lifted, advocacy groups warn that hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan families face imminent deportation, while the administration insists the move is necessary to curb migration and restore order at the border.
