US ends protections for thousands of Venezuelans, NY Times reports

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has terminated deportation relief for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing US government documents that it obtained.

The move affects more than 300,000, or about half, of the 600,000 Venezuelans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) living in the United States, and could take effect within two months, according to the Times.

Those affected would lose their deportation relief and access to work permits 60 days after the federal government publishes the termination notice, according to the Times. It did not say when the document would be published.

The more than 300,000 Venezuelans had TPS through April, according to the notice reported by the Times. The other half, not impacted by the pending notice, have protections through September.

Trump took office on Jan. 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programs he says go beyond the intent of US law. He tried to end most TPS enrollment during his first term but was stymied by federal courts.

On Saturday, Trump said that Venezuela agreed to accept the return of Venezuelans who entered the United States without legal authorization. The Venezuelan government did not respond to a request for comment. TPS is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. “Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the US, including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He said Venezuela agreed to supply transportation for them. The Venezuelan government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Republican president’s announcement came the day after US envoy Richard Grenell met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the South American country on Friday and brought six US citizens back with him.

The Trump administration said the top goals for Grenell’s trip were to secure the release of detained Americans and deporting Venezuelans back to their home country.

The White House said the high-level visit does not mean the United States recognizes Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The two countries have a fraught recent history marked by broken relations, sanctions and accusations of coup-plotting.

Grenell said there were no financial or other concessions promised to Maduro.

“The only award for Maduro was my physical presence, the first senior US official to visit the country in years,” he was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal. “It was a big gift to him to have a visit by an envoy of President Trump.”

Maduro struck a conciliatory note after the meeting, saying he and Trump “have made a first step. Hopefully it can continue.”