US bishops criticise Trump’s decision to end Venezuelan protections

John Lavenburg/Crux• February 4, 2025

The U.S. bishops have called the Trump administration’s decision to revoke temporary legal protections for Venezuelan immigrants “counterproductive to the administration’s stated goal of reducing strain on American communities.”

“We urge them to consider the adverse impact this step will have on citizens and non-citizens alike,” Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. bishops, told Crux in a statement on 3 February. “Terminating this temporary legal protection that allows people to work, pay taxes and contribute to our society will only lead to more disruption and would appear to risk diverting the focus of enforcement efforts away from legitimate threats to public safety.”

“We urge the administration to work with Congress on a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration system that would provide for well-regulated borders and humane, orderly immigration,” Noguchi continued.

Created through the Immigration Act of 1990, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allows a presidential administration to grant temporary protections to immigrants from nations beset by war, environmental disasters, an epidemic, or other emergencies.

A TPS designation can be made for six, 12 or 18 months at a time. At least 60 days before the expiration of a country’s TPS designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security must decide, based on conditions in the designated country, whether to extend or terminate the status.

Venezuela has been designated for TPS twice, both times under the Biden administration, specifically by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. One designation was granted in 2021, while the other was granted in 2023. Both were for 18 months.

As it stands, Venezuelans approved for protections under the 2023 designation are set to lose their status on 2 April 2025, as current Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has rescinded the 18-month extension granted by Mayorkas on 17 January. The extension would have allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants to keep TPS until 2 October 2026.

The 2021 designation has been extended multiple times and remains in effect until 10 September 2025.

Further, a notice from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), posted to the Federal Register on 3 February and signed by Kristi Noem, states: “Pursuant to this vacatur, USCIS will no longer accept Venezuela TPS re-registration applications and associated applications for employment authorisation filed under the Mayorkas notice.”

According to government statistics, 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants are eligible for TPS.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), an organisation focused on immigration law and advocacy, called the decision to revoke temporary legal protections for Venezuelan immigrants “a betrayal” of the nation’s duty to protect the most vulnerable.

“This decision is a betrayal of our nation’s moral and legal obligations to protect those fleeing violence and persecution,” Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, said in a statement on 30 January. “Stripping temporary legal protections from Venezuelans not only exposes a very vulnerable population to deportation but also contradicts our core values as a nation rooted in justice and the protection of the oppressed.”

Reached by Crux, USCIS declined to comment on the decision but shared a different termination notice, signed by Noem and published on 5 February. Summarising the decision, the notice states: “After reviewing country conditions and considering whether permitting Venezuelan nationals covered by the 2023 designation is contrary to the national interest of the United States… the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation.”

“In particular, the Secretary has determined it is contrary to the national interest to permit the covered Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States,” the notice continues. This rationale aligns with the broader stance of both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance regarding TPS and their plans for mass deportations.

In granting Venezuelans TPS, Mayorkas highlighted a “severe humanitarian emergency” in the country, including economic contraction, inflation, deepening poverty, high levels of unemployment, reduced access to and shortages of food and medicine, a weak medical system, a collapse in basic services, shortages of water, electricity and fuel, human rights abuses, crime and violence, and corruption.

Disputing the Trump administration’s decision, Gallagher argued that Venezuela “remains in the throes of a dire humanitarian crisis, with rampant political oppression, food shortages and economic hardship forcing millions to flee” and described the Biden administration’s TPS extension as “a lifeline for those who have sought refuge in the United States.”

Furthermore, she called the Trump administration’s decision an “affront” to Catholic social teaching.

“We must not allow political agendas to dictate who is worthy of protection,” Gallagher said. “Our Catholic faith compels us to speak out against such injustice and to advocate for policies that affirm the dignity of every human life.”

Photo: US Catholic bishops look across the US-Mexico border (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)