OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Immigrant advocates in Florida are considering legal action after the Trump administration revoked an 18-month extension on the temporary protected status for roughly 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants this week.
Community leaders gathered Friday to address the issue at the Kissimmee office of Rep. Darren Soto.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, TPS is a designation allowing residents from certain countries to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary conditions. Seventeen countries are currently designated for TPS.
Cecilia Gonzalez, a TPS recipient, says this is leaving families vulnerable.
“We’re hardworking individuals who have strengthened the fabric of this nation,” she said.
With U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem vacating the extension on TPS for Venezuelans, the community is left grappling with their next steps.
William Diaz, founder of Casa de Venezuela, an immigrant advocacy group, joined Soto to discuss the issue.
“Over 600,000 beneficiaries of TPS, just because three or four or five guys commit a crime in any state? Why don’t you see the value of people who are working in hospitals and schools?” Diaz told News 6.
Diaz said he and other immigrant advocates are considering legal action.
On Friday, Soto sent a letter to Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, denouncing the decision that puts hundreds of thousands at risk of deportation.
“I’m proud today to lead a letter with multiple members of Congress to stop this termination and make sure we protect local Venezuelan families and their members of local citizens, families, and the reality is more deportations equal more inflation, and this will affect everyone,” he said.
In early January, the Biden administration extended TPS for Venezuelans, but now their status will expire in either April or September of this year.
The letter from Soto also requests a briefing on a meeting between President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, and Venezuela’s president regarding the repatriation of criminals and gang members currently in the U.S.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:
