The Trump administration has revoked an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, removing work authorization for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and making them eligible for deportation. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the decision Wednesday, reversing protections granted under the Biden administration.

Speaking on Fox & Friends, Noem framed the decision as a move to improve public safety. “The people of this country want these dirtbags out,” she said. “They want their communities to be safe.” She also suggested that the administration would reassess TPS protections for all migrants, signaling Trump's immigration policy shifts ahead.

TPS is a federal program that provides temporary legal status and work permits to individuals from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters, or humanitarian crises. Initially introduced in the 1990s to assist Salvadorans fleeing civil war, TPS now protects approximately 1 million people from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Venezuelans received TPS due to the severe economic and political crisis under President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which has led to mass emigration from the country.

For many Venezuelans living in the U.S. under TPS, the revocation has sparked uncertainty and fear. Caren Añez, a 41-year-old single mother who applied for TPS in 2023 and received protection in 2024, expressed distress over the decision. “I’m scared even though I’m here legally and I arrived legally,” Añez told AP. “I am distraught, seeing how else I can stay here legally.”

Añez, who worked as an independent news reporter in Venezuela before fleeing, fears that returning home would put her life at risk. “I cannot enter Venezuela because my life is in danger,” she said.

More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2013, seeking better living conditions and escaping the Maduro government. A pre-election poll by Venezuelan research firm Delphos showed that about a quarter of the population was considering emigration if Maduro remained in power. Earlier this month, despite widespread allegations of election fraud, Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term.

The Biden administration’s extension of TPS protections until October 2026 has now been overturned, returning to the original expiration dates of April and September 2024. Noem has until Saturday to decide whether to allow the protections expiring in April to lapse and until July 12 for those expiring in September. If no action is taken, the protections will automatically extend for another six months.

However, enforcing mass deportations of Venezuelans presents logistical and diplomatic challenges. The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with Venezuela, making direct deportations difficult. While federal regulations allow for early termination of TPS extensions, such actions have rarely been taken, and the Trump administration faced legal challenges when attempting to end TPS protections during its first term.

The National TPS Alliance, an immigrant advocacy group, has already indicated plans to challenge the administration’s decision in court. “We are prepared to fight this in every way possible,” the organization said in a statement.

Republicans have long criticized TPS as a program that grants de facto permanent residency rather than providing temporary relief. They argue that frequent renewals, regardless of conditions in the home country, undermine the program’s original intent.

Critics of the revocation, however, point to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the economic contributions of TPS recipients, many of whom have built lives, businesses, and careers in the United States. Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) condemned the decision, telling NPR, “As a nation that thinks of ourselves as a beacon of light and hope and refuge for people who are fleeing dangerous leaders, this really is a betrayal of our values.”