MAYNARD, Mass. — Venezuelans and immigrant advocacy groups are suing the Trump administration over its decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants.
Some now have under 60 days to leave the United States.
Daniel in Maynard, speaking under the condition of anonymity, shared his fears of returning to Venezuela.
“Right now, I don’t think I can be deported because I’m legal until April 6th. After that, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Daniel when he sat down with Boston 25 News reporter Ryan Breslin.
Daniel and his wife live in an apartment in Maynard, work in that area, and have a car there.
At the beginning of this month, they learned they had just 60 days to leave the US or face being here illegally.
“So after two years ending your life here in 60 days, it’s difficult.” Daniel continued, “It’s not enough time for us. It’s stressful to manage everything.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded the TPS, a Biden-era program, on February 3rd.
Originally DHS had extended it until October 2026.
Now people like Daniel are scrambling.
“We knew it’s a temporary program, but after I renewed for 18 months then a week after that saying, no, it’s not going to happen.”
It means Daniel has to leave his job as a restaurant manager and find a way to ship all his and his wife’s belongings back to Venezuela.
He fears the Venezuelan government will make them pay tariffs on the packages or potentially steal them, never to see their belongings again.
Daniel said life in Venezuela is unimaginable, “In Venezuela I get robbed more than five times across my life, and I couldn’t go out with my cell phone in my hand. Nothing.” He continued, “the water, it’s not consistent. Every day you have like a limited time to have water, the electricity goes out and life quality is not the same as here.”
The Biden administration cited the extreme poverty and economic crises when granting the TPS.
Noem’s termination of the TPS stated, " 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, in consultation with the appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation.”
One new lawsuit alleges the new administration’s actions are motivated by racism and that DHS has no legal authority to undo a TPS extension once it’s been made.
“I don’t know why they changed their speech from Venezuela is not safe to it’s now safe. In less than three months,” said Daniel.
Daniel’s biggest fear is not seeing his parents who live in the US again.
He said, “Before I came here, I had [gone] seven years without seeing them. So now I have the big possibility to not see them again.”
Boston 25 News reporter Ryan Breslin asked Daniel, “There are people that feel that anyone in this country that immigrated here should be deported. What would you say to those people?”
He replied, “That’s a tough question. I will say not all immigrants are criminals or are illegal, so we shouldn’t be treated like the same. Because I think the mix is what makes America great. I don’t think we, you have to deport all the immigrants.”
Breslin has been reaching out to DHS agencies since January 24, first on a story about ICE arrests, then February 18 on this story.
DHS media contacts have not provided any information or comment on this story. All emails from individuals with the department have come back as out-of-office.
Meanwhile, Secretary Noem announced Thursday that DHS is scaling back TPS for Haitian migrants, ending their protected status in August.
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