GOP Lawmaker Says Venezuelan TPS Recipients 'Are Good People' And Is 'Sure They're Going To Be Able To Stay' In The U.S.

Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said she is confident Venezuelans in the U.S. who are facing deportation after the Trump administration revoked the program will end up being able to stay in the country.

Speaking to CNN, the Florida lawmaker was asked about the Venezuelans in their district living in uncertainty: "My message to the White House has been very clear. We have to make a differentiation between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelans who came in through TPS," Salazar said.

"I am sure that we're going to come to an understanding. We are talking about 600,000 Venezuelans. One group expires in April, another in September. I'm sure that the Trump administration understands that these people who are here fleeing communism, we need to keep them under TPS protection. These are not illegals, they are not Tren de Aragua or MS-13, these are good people who came and we welcomed them and I'm sure they'll be able to stay," she added.

On January 10, 2025, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas extended TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months, citing worsening economic and human rights conditions in Venezuela. Less than one month later Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vacated that decision and terminated TPS for those reached by the decision. Hundreds of thousands more could face the same fate when their protections end later this year.

A recent report concluding that the termination of the program was arbitrary and politically motivated, ignoring that conditions in Venezuela have not improved to justify the decision. The report, published by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), described the termination of TPS as unlawful and motivated by the Trump administration's goal to carry out mass deportations.

The Federal Register notice justifying the termination mentioned "notable improvements" in Venezuela's economy, public health, and crime, yet failed to provide supporting evidence, per the NFAP report.

"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not cite a single source for the conclusion that there are 'notable improvements in several areas' in Venezuela. That contradicted the assessment DHS delivered two weeks earlier under Secretary Mayorkas, which cited 52 sources to support its conclusion that conditions in Venezuela warranted a continuation of TPS."

Additionally, the report details a political motivation behind the termination: "A key motivation for terminating TPS for Venezuelans was it would provide approximately 350,000 more potential deportees to drive up the numbers of the Trump mass deportation plan. Officials hope these individuals with known addresses will be easy to add to the deportation tally."

The report further claims that Trump officials negotiated with Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro to accept mass deportations in exchange for economic incentives. However, that situation seemed to change on Wednesday, as Trump announced that he is reversing oil-related concessions granted to Venezuela by the Biden administration, citing the "regime" is not taking back "violent criminals" at the agreed-upon speed.