Termination of Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Venezuelan Immigrants Announced by Trump Administration Amid Intensifying US-Venezuela Diplomatic Conflict

In a significant turn of events, the US military carried out a lethal strike against a small vessel allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela on Tuesday. This lethal strike marks the first action of its kind since President Trump designated a series of cartels and gangs, including the so-called Tren de Aragua, as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations."

The Trump administration's hardline stance towards Venezuela continues with the decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 250,000 Venezuelan migrants. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesman, Matthew Tragesser, stated that allowing Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is not in America's best interest. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the decision was made because conditions in Venezuela no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements.

The latest decision to rescind TPS affects the roughly 268,000 Venezuelan beneficiaries of the 2021 designation, with the status set to expire on Sept. 10, 2025. However, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked the attempt to end TPS for Venezuelan individuals in September 2025, allowing them to continue living and working in the US while the status remains in effect. The official termination date set by the government is November 7, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., but court actions have temporarily prevented the termination and deportation.

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has set out on a multi-pronged campaign to carry out what it calls the "largest deportation operation" in US history. As part of this campaign, DHS revoked the status and work permits of over 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who had entered the country legally. The revocation was temporarily blocked for Venezuelans by a federal judge.

The US has also taken actions specifically targeting the Venezuelan population inside the country. DHS told beneficiaries of a "parole" program that their permission to remain in the US had been rescinded and they should leave the country immediately. The Venezuelan government has vehemently denied the allegations made by the US.

The US has alleged, without evidence, that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is directing the operations of Tren de Aragua associates. However, legal scholars have questioned the legality of the US strike, and the US has never offered court-backed evidence that proves the cartel's existence. The US has also claimed that Maduro is also the head of the Cartel de los Soles, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.

The article was edited by Andreína Chávez Alava in Caracas.

Termination of Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Venezuelan Immigrants Announced by Trump Administration Amid Intensifying US-Venezuela Diplomatic Conflict