The end of temporary protections for Venezuelans in the U.S. has left many in North Texas in fear of deportation.
On Friday tens of thousands of Venezuelans lost their Temporary Protected Status designation, which allowed them to legally live and work in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their home country, including a collapse of the health care system and ongoing economic crisis.
Willander, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, was a civil engineer in Venezuela before he came to the U.S.
He said the loss of TPS creates uncertainty not only for him, but for all Venezuelans in the U.S.
“Sometimes we are afraid to go out into the street in the event we are arrested by police,” he told KERA in Spanish. “And being Venezuelan, they can ask you for documents.”
In 2021 the Biden administration designated temporary protected status for Venezuelans and later extended it through October 2026, but the Trump administration reversed the decision earlier this year.
For months, the news of the expiration date for the TPS designation has created “chaos” and fears of deportation, said Dallas immigration attorney Jaime Barron.
“Saturday morning 240,000 people will be out of status and now could be subject to deportation and be unable to work and you know pay their bills,” said Jaime Barron, an immigration attorney in Dallas.
Many have sought alternate ways to keep their legal status. Barron said TPS has been “very fickle” under the current administration.
“Some people also qualify for political asylum. Some people have been crime victims, other people have been married for a while to their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouses,” Barron said. “Others maybe have a U.S. citizen child or in the military or other options through employment.”
Willander, who also has an asylum case in process, said he's worried about what losing TPS means for his future in the country.
“It’s what protects me the most here, so it’s complicated,” he said.
Approximately 607,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. were covered by the TPS designation as of January 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court last month cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to immediately remove protections for 350,000 Venezuelan nationals who had received protections when the Biden administration re-designated Venezuela for TPS in 2023.
Jesus, who spoke to KERA outside a Venezuelan restaurant in Garland this summer as the challenge went through the court system, said he and others don’t know who or where to turn to. Venezuela closed its consulates in the U.S. after a breakdown in relations with the U.S.
“There’s no one, no support here,” he said. “We don’t know where to go to for help.”
Barron said that while countries like Mexico have a repatriation program, Venezuela is unwilling to accept their co-nationals. “It's just a horrible situation,” he said. “Venezuelans have one of the worst situations of all nationalities.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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