EIG Alert: DHS Terminates 2023 TPS Designation for Venezuela

On Monday, February 3, 2025, USCIS announced that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, has determined that conditions in Venezuela no longer support the 2023 designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). A Federal Register Notice is expected to be published on Wednesday, February 5.

The Biden administration issued two separate designations of Venezuela. In this notice, DHS is terminating only the October 3, 2023 Venezuela TPS designation. The 2021 Venezuela TPS designation remains in effect until September 10, 2025.

Background: On October 3, 2023, Venezuela was newly designated for TPS based on the determination that there were extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevented the safe return of Venezuelan nationals, and that permitting such Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is not contrary to the U.S. national interest. The 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS is set to expire on April 2, 2025.

  • On January 28, 2025, Secretary Noem vacated former Secretary Mayorkas’s January 10, 2025 decision to extend TPS for 18 months.

  • At sixty-days out from the April 2, 2025, expiration, DHS Secretary Noem reviewed country conditions and has determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation.

  • The Secretary is terminating the 2023 TPS designation of Venezuela effective 60 days after the publish date of the Federal Register.

What to Expect: TPS and related benefits associated with the 2023 designation will no longer be in effect starting 60 days after publication of the Federal Register notice.

  • With the termination, nationals of Venezuela (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) who have been granted TPS under the 2023 Venezuela designation will no longer have TPS.

  • This termination determination does not apply to the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, which remains in effect until September 10, 2025, or to individuals who are registered for TPS under the 2021 designation.

  • DHS estimates that “approximately 348,202 aliens are eligible for TPS under the 2023 Venezuela designation.”

Go Deeper: President Trump, in the immigration and border-related executive orders and proclamations directed the Secretary to terminate the parole program known as the “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans” (CHNV). The parole process for Venezuelans had been in effect since October 19, 2022, “allowing hundreds of thousands of inadmissible Venezuelans to enter the United States at interior ports of entry and remain in this country, generally for a period of two years, with employment authorization eligibility.” DHS estimates that 33,600 CHNV parolees from Venezuela availed themselves of TPS.

Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.


EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The Trump administration has used the term “alien” to refer to people who are immigrants and foreign nationals. In instances where we’re repeating administration policy, we are using their terminology.