Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Venezuelans in Utah face uncertainty after the Trump administration's decision to rescind an extension of temporary protected status for the country.
- The decision, still focus of review, could impact 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. and has prompted fear among some.
- The U.S. government's initial temporary protected status designation for Venezuela stems from political turmoil in the country.
SALT LAKE CITY — Relief has turned to concern for many in Utah's Venezuelan community after the Trump administration's decision to rescind the extension of temporary protected status for around 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants across the United States.
Tuesday's decision by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem potentially means protected status for Venezuelans benefitting from the program may end by April 3 or Sept. 10, depending on when they initially applied, throwing their presence in the country in limbo. The move — reversing a Jan. 10 determination to extend the program — is one of many by the administration of President Donald Trump as he puts a focus on deporting immigrants here illegally.
Aside from fear and uncertainty, some Venezuelans and their advocates are questioning the move — not yet necessarily final — given the political turmoil in Venezuela and the fact that they abided by U.S. regulations in applying for temporary protected status. Temporary protected status, or TPS, is available to immigrants from a handful of countries contending with armed conflicts, natural disasters and other dire situations.
"The consternation in the community right now is we have done it by the book. You provided a way for us to do things legally. We have not gotten ourselves into problems or into having a criminal record," said South Jordan immigration attorney Carlos Trujillo. Many Venezuelans in Utah had lauded the Jan. 10 decision.
Venezuelans are a growing segment of Utah's foreign-born population, the third-largest component after those originally from Mexico, top on the list by a wide margin, and China. Many Venezuelans have come here and to other countries around the globe fleeing political repression under the government of President Nicolás Maduro, a socialist.
In Tuesday's memo outlining the policy reversal, Noem said the decision about whether to expand the TPS program should have been left to her since the current end dates, April 3 and Sept. 10, occur during the new Trump administration. Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security secretary under President Joe Biden, announced the TPS extension for Venezuelans on Jan. 10, 10 days before the end of Biden's term and the start of Trump's.
Noem's memo leaves open the possibility of another policy shift, noting a deadline of Saturday to decide whether to extend the April 3 TPS end date. She must decide by July 12 whether to extend the Sept. 10 date. If she takes no action, those end dates would be automatically extended by six months.
At any rate, even foes in Venezuela of the government of Maduro are speaking out, lobbying for an extension of the TPS end date. Comando Con Vzla, the coalition in Venezuela leading the opposition to Maduro's government, issued a statement on the matter Thursday, defending the Venezuelan population in the United States.
"The vast majority of Venezuelans in exile left seeking temporary refuge until they can return to a free Venezuela," it reads. The overwhelming majority of Venezuelans in the United States "are good people who have worked hard for decades and have contributed to the development of that nation with their talent, their knowledge and their investments."
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The statement acknowledges the importance of U.S. efforts to maintain order in the country while also noting the dangers Venezuelans in the United States could face if forced to return to the country with Maduro still in power. Trujillo echoed those concerns. "It's critical to take into consideration the security threat and well-being of those people who have faced off with or fled the (Maduro) regime owing to political persecution," the statement reads.
Trujillo advises Venezuelans in Utah with temporary protected status to wait for a final determination on the matter by Noem before taking action. If the TPS initiative ends, Venezuelans could alternatively apply for asylum in the United States, he said, given the political conditions in Venezuela.
In addition to extending the TPS program for Venezuelans on Jan. 10, Mayorkas that same day also extended the TPS program for Salvadorans in the United States. The Trump administration hasn't publicly said anything about that decision.
