The 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela will end at midnight Saturday, affecting approximately 250,000 Venezuelan migrants who will become undocumented and could face deportation proceedings.
TPS was first granted to Venezuelans because of dangerous conditions in their country, marked by political turmoil, economic collapse and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
The program allowed Venezuelans already in the U.S. to live and work legally. President Joe Biden authorized the designation in 2021, and the eligibility criteria expanded in 2023.
With the cancellation of TPS, many Venezuelans will need to seek another form of relief, such as an asylum petition, family-based petition or work visa.
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“This is another blow to the tragic situation we’re living through, both in Venezuela and here in the United States,” said Milton, a 42-year-old Venezuelan construction worker in Dallas who asked to be identified by only his first name.
Milton arrived in North Texas in 2021 and applied for TPS. He’s one of the lucky few who also sought asylum and will retain some protection. But many of his coworkers, he says, are not so fortunate.
“They’re terrified,” he said. “Without TPS, they’re exposed. They could be picked up and deported at any moment.”
Austin-based immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is deeply familiar with the emotions Venezuelans are experiencing and the devastating situation they are facing as immigrants.
“I’ve been telling my Venezuelan clients: ‘You are a target just by virtue of being Venezuelan,’” she said.
Under President Donald Trump’s second term, immigration enforcement has intensified.
His administration has launched raids against undocumented immigrants, with a particular focus on Venezuelans.
Trump has cited concerns about Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal gang, as justification for the crackdown.
“What’s troubling is how Venezuelans have been singled out,” said Lincoln-Goldfinch. “I don’t know if it’s racially or politically motivated, or both, but it started early in this administration. We saw agents going after asylum seekers and TPS holders almost immediately.”
Texas is home to the second-largest Venezuelan population in the U.S., after Florida.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, approximately 122,000 Venezuelans live in Texas, including an estimated 20,000 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Nationally, approximately 770,000 Venezuelan immigrants reside in the U.S., comprising just under 2% of the country’s immigrant population.
As of January 2025, around 607,000 Venezuelans were protected under TPS.
Saturday’s TPS cancellation will affect around 250,000 Venezuelans, while others may retain legal status through asylum, family sponsorship, or employment-based pathways.
Pedro Antonio Lopez, an immigration attorney in Dallas who works closely with the Venezuelan community, said there is deep concern among many of the people he represents, especially those who will lose TPS protection starting Saturday.
“What I’m seeing is a sense of confusion, but also a feeling of betrayal. Many Venezuelans entered the country legally, and now they feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them,” he said.
Lopez said Venezuelans wholose TPS protection should seek immediate legal help.
For many families in Venezuela, the stakes are even higher. The U.S. has become a vital source of remittances, with Venezuelans living here sending billions of dollars home each year.
In 2022 alone, Venezuela received over $4.2 billion in remittances, about 5% of its GDP. The U.S. accounted for 38% of those funds, despite hosting just 12% of Venezuelan migrants globally.
“We came to the United States because it’s impossible to survive in our country with the wages people are paid,” Milton said.
Now, he and others like him face an impossible choice.
“We’re at a crossroads,” he said. “If we stay, we live in fear, always looking over our shoulders. But if we go back, we have no way to support our families.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had said conditions in Venezuela no longer meet the statutory requirements for TPS and allowing Venezuelans to remain in the U.S. is not in the national interest, citing factors like public safety, national security, and migration.