DHS secretary Kristi Noem revokes deportation protections for Venezuelans
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has revoked an extension for deportation protections for over 600,000 Venezuelans, creating uncertainty regarding their legal status in the US.
The Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that the previous Biden administration granted to over 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has rescinded an 18-month extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme, which allows individuals to stay temporarily in the US if they cannot return safely to their home country.
The federal programme is designed for people fleeing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary temporary conditions. TPS provides legal authority to remain in the country, but does not offer a long-term pathway to US citizenship.
Former President Joe Biden's Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, issued the extension earlier in January, citing "the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises."
Noem stated on Fox News: "Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months, they were going to extend protection to people on Temporary Protected Status, which meant they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months. We stopped that."
Noem's decision requires her to make a ruling on protections expiring in April by Saturday or have them automatically renew for six months, as reported by the New York Times.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, remarked, "By taking this action, Secretary Noem is throwing over 600,000 into a state of ongoing bureaucratic limbo. People will no longer have any certainty as to whether they can stay in the country legally through the end of the year."
Approximately a million immigrants from 17 countries, including Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Lebanon, are protected under the TPS programme. Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, suggested during the election campaign that they would reduce the use of TPS and policies granting temporary status as they pursued a campaign pledge of mass deportations. During his first term in office, Trump attempted to end most TPS enrolment but was thwarted by federal courts.
