Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that Venezuelan migrants who recently lost Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States remain eligible to apply for asylum, following the administration’s decision to end the program for hundreds of thousands of people.
“Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status, and that evaluation will go forward,” Noem said during an interview on Fox News Sunday.
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Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security ended TPS protections for approximately 600,000 Venezuelans who were granted legal status under the Biden administration, exposing many to potential deportation unless they qualify for alternative immigration relief.
The announcement came amid dramatic developments in Venezuela and heightened political rhetoric from Washington. Venezuelan migrants in South Florida celebrated publicly over the weekend following the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early Saturday morning.
Despite the celebrations, the long-term outlook for Venezuela remains uncertain. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States “will run the country” until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” can be implemented, adding that American oil companies would help rehabilitate Venezuela’s petroleum infrastructure. The country holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a more cautious tone, saying on NBC’s Meet the Press that the U.S. must first confront issues related to drug trafficking, criminal gangs and sanctioned oil exports before supporting a political transition.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, rejected claims of a change in leadership. In a televised address Saturday, she insisted that “there is only one president in Venezuela and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”
Trump said Secretary of State Rubio spoke with Rodríguez following Maduro’s detention and warned that she could face serious consequences if she fails to cooperate. In an interview with The Atlantic, Trump said Rodríguez would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” if she “doesn’t do what’s right.”
As geopolitical tensions escalate, Venezuelans in the U.S. now face a narrowing window to secure legal protection, with asylum applications emerging as the primary path forward for those affected by the rollback of TPS protections.
