By Ted Hesson and Mariela Nava
WASHINGTON/MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) -U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday moved to remove protection against deportation from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S., part of President Donald Trump’s expanding immigration crackdown.
The decision means about 348,000 Venezuelans with Temporary Protected Status, more than half of all Venezuelans in the program, could be deported and lose work permits in April, according to a government notice.
The notice said the protections were contrary to U.S. interests and no longer justified by conditions in Venezuela.
Trump, a Republican, took office on Jan. 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programs he says go beyond the intent of U.S. law. Trump tried to end most enrollment in the temporary protection program during his first term but was stymied by federal courts.
The status is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event.
“I don’t know what will happen,” said Venezuelan migrant Ana Maria Pirela, 26, who lives in California and has temporary protected status.
“Yesterday they fired my husband from his job – he had been managing a food store for two months – and I’m two months pregnant. I don’t want to go back to Venezuela,” she said by phone.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, greatly expanded the temporary protection program. It now covers more than 1 million people from 17 nations, some in the U.S. for decades, and they could face immediate deportation if they lose the status.
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans arrived in the U.S. during Biden’s presidency, many via legal humanitarian pathways, and deporting them has been challenging due to frosty U.S.-Venezuela relations. On Saturday, Trump said Venezuela had agreed to accept all deported people but provided few details.
Last week, Noem canceled an 18-month extension of temporary protections for Venezuelans by her Biden-era predecessor. On Monday, she stopped their status from automatically renewing for six months.
About 300,000 additional Venezuelans have Temporary Protected Status that expires in September and were not affected by Monday’s decision.
The Department of Homeland Security said in the termination notice that while some challenging conditions remain in Venezuela, “there are notable improvements in several areas such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned to their home country.”
The Trump administration is also preparing to end a Biden-era legal entry program under which some 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with U.S. sponsors can live and work in the U.S., three sources familiar with the matter said.
The move could come in days or weeks, two of the sources said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘ANGUISH’ AMONG VENEZUELANS
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government has taken some steps to control inflation, which previously was in the triple digits, but economic conditions in Venezuela remain dire for most people. The monthly minimum wage equals about $3.
Maduro was inaugurated for his third term in January, despite a six-month-long election dispute, international calls for him to stand aside and an increase in the U.S. reward offered for his capture.
The U.S. charged Maduro and several allies with drug trafficking in 2020, charges he denies.
The Venezuelan opposition, which has faced arrests and other crackdown measures since the July election, asked the U.S. to keep the temporary protection program in place.
Venezuelan migrant Tatiana Vazques, who lives in Atlanta, said by phone that her family submitted a U.S. asylum application but was anxious after seeing other Venezuelans arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Yesterday ICE took a friend and her husband. There’s anguish,” she said.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward in Washington and Mariela Nava in Maracaibo, Venezuela; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
