The end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) poses a significant threat of immigrant rights loss to thousands of Venezuelans. Among them are Mafe and Mariano, two stories filled with fear of deportation and the hope of building a future in the United States.
November 7 will be a crucial date for the Venezuelan community, as the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed an earlier ruling in early October that places 600,000 Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries at risk of deportation. This decision arises amid an ongoing legal battle and a political landscape marked by Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Uncertain Immigration Future
María Fernanda Angulo, better known as Mafe, expressed her distress to the newspaper El País, stating that “on that day, I lose everything: my driver’s license, my status, and my work permit. A deportation process could open against me, separating me from the family I’ve built here.”
Mafe arrived in the U.S. in 2019, settling in Florida, where she has since worked for an organization that assists other migrants.
“I’ve been here working legally, doing everything the right way,” she asserted. But her peace of mind shattered with Trump’s election victory in 2024. “I saw it coming,” she said with resignation. Since then, her life is filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
“It has been an uphill year, very mentally challenging,” she confessed.
Her fear extends beyond losing her documents; it’s the thought of returning to the country she fled. “I panic at the idea of going back to Venezuela, even giving this interview makes me afraid that it could lead to a process against me if I return,” she admitted to the Spanish outlet. She recalled how a friend was recently imprisoned for supporting María Corina Machado’s campaign, the opposition leader and current Nobel Peace Prize winner.
She recounted that her “last paycheck as an elementary school psychologist allowed me, literally, to buy a two-liter soda and a bag of chips.” The crisis, food shortages, and political repression drove her to seek a fresh start.
From a distance, she watches in disbelief the statements from President Trump, who has claimed that many Venezuelans are “criminals or mentally ill.”
“It’s easy to say that 600,000 Venezuelans are bad people here to cause harm, but the reality is that they are folks wanting to do everything right, working to provide their families with a different future,” she stated.
Venezuelan Musician Fights for His Future Amid Deportation Risks
Mariano Santana, a 29-year-old musician, also faces the expiration of TPS. He arrived in the U.S. in 2014 to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. A gunpoint robbery in Caracas, which he survived unharmed, convinced him to emigrate.
“I thought about how many people have to reach that point. It says a lot about the country. In the end, it’s about survival,” he shared with El País.
Despite studying music, working as a composer and teacher, and participating in the tour of the Mexican group RBD, which sold out at Madison Square Garden in 2023, Santana fears that everything he has built could crumble if he loses his work permit.
Unlike many, he managed to stay in the U.S. with student visas and scholarships, although bureaucracy almost left him out of the immigration system. He faced depression and anxiety at the thought of deportation. When Biden granted TPS, he saw a glimmer of hope.
“In New York, I connected with others who left their country by walking, passing through jungles, with babies and children, witnessing death, experiencing completely terrifying things. I feel blessed because I left Venezuela by plane,” he humility said.
This year, he renewed his permit, even knowing the decision might be futile. “I invested in the renewal knowing it might be worthless, that I could lose my money,” he confessed. Despite the uncertainty, he tries not to let fear take over. “I won’t let it eat me alive, or else I freeze up.”
After over a decade outside of Venezuela, Mariano can’t help but notice similarities between the country he left and the tension he perceives today in the United States.
“What I feel now is that there are many similar things to Venezuela. In terms of corruption, fascism, and a lack of interest or compassion for human beings,” he reflected.
Cancellation of TPS
TPS was established in 1990 to protect citizens from deportation who come from countries affected by wars, natural disasters, or humanitarian crises. Joe Biden granted it to Venezuelans in 2021 and renewed it in 2023, considering the worsening situation under Nicolás Maduro’s government. Before leaving office, he extended it until 2026, but the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, canceled that extension.
Immigration organizations challenged this decision, leading to a ruling in September by federal judge Edward M. Chen in favor of the plaintiffs.
“The Secretary’s actions in overruling the previous administration’s orders and terminating TPS exceeded her legal authority and were arbitrary and capricious,” he wrote in his ruling. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court nullified the temporary measure, leaving thousands of Venezuelan families in limbo.
El País / EFE / El Nacional