This week Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked the 18-month extension of the Temporary Protected Status designation for Venezuelans.
Word quickly got around to Venezuelan community members living in North Texas.
José Alfredo Sandoval left Venezuela nearly two years ago in pursuit of a better life in the U.S. He said he came here the hard way, suffering hardships and extortion traveling through Central America and Mexico, before eventually getting to the U.S.
“There were times when I didn’t know if I was going to survive,” he said. “I would never want my loved ones to go through this to get here.”
Sandoval spoke to KERA while eating breakfast with his brother at a Venezuelan restaurant in Garland.
He had hoped to bring his wife and two young children to the U.S.
He said that dream took a pause this week after the Trump administration revoked the 18-month extension of TPS for Venezuelans that would have offered protections through Oct. 2, 2026. Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden extended temporary protections for immigrants from El Salvador, Venezuela, Sudan and Ukraine.
The decision to end the extension affects Sandoval and the 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. who have TPS. Current protections expire in September, and Sandoval isn’t sure what his future looks like.
“We have that uncertainty that they can possibly deport us because Venezuela right now is under ... a regime where we don’t have the quality of life that we have living in the United States,” he said.
Sandoval said he is concerned because has two adult sons and more than a dozen nephews living in the U.S.
“We are struggling,” he said. “Some have TPS, others have applied for asylum, and some have permission for five years. Many of them are young.”
Despite the setback, he is hopeful that things can turn around.
“The truth is we are here, and we come here with the desire to work and to build a future,” he said. “That's our purpose here.”
Just last week Proyecto Inmigrante, a nonprofit immigration advocacy group in North Texas, urged people with pending TPS renewals to apply as soon as possible because of President Donald Trump’s recent changes to immigration policies.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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