Venezuelans in US denounce 'more unstable' migration situation since Trump's return

Venezuelan exile organizations have presented a report to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, denouncing a "more unstable" migratory situation for Venezuelans in the United States since 2025, the start of Donald Trump's second presidential term. The report, compiled by the Organization of Venezuelan Political Persecutees in Exile (VEPPEX) and the Multicultural Association of Activists Voice and Expression (AMAVEX), asserts that migration policies enacted since 2025 have left Venezuelans with fewer protections, disrupted work permits, and increased exposure to detention.

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The migration decisions adopted since 2025 have left Venezuelans with fewer protections, interrupted work permits, and more exposed to detention.

The report from the Miami-based groups points to the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which benefited approximately 607,000 Venezuelans, along with reductions in humanitarian parole and the cessation, as of October, of automatic work permit extensions. These measures, the report argues, create a cascading effect: without a valid permit, individuals face job loss, inability to renew medical insurance or driver's licenses, all while their immigration cases remain pending.

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Without a current permit, there is no employment, no medical insurance, no renewed driver's license, while the file remains open.

Documented cases from July and August reveal Venezuelans being detained despite holding work permits, with some also having pending asylum claims and valid driver's licenses. The organizations are calling for case-by-case reviews of detentions, rather than applying broad measures. They also address the invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a group linked to Venezuela, a connection the Venezuelan government denies. While acknowledging the gang as a "real criminal organization," the report urges that individual membership be proven without relying on nationality, appearance, tattoos, or circumstantial associations.

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We ask that each custody be decided on a case-by-case basis and be reviewable.

Furthermore, the report examines an agreement with Liberia to receive up to 1,200 non-Liberian citizens over twelve months, primarily Latin Americans, including Venezuelans. The first flight arrived in Monrovia on August 20 with twenty individuals whose nationalities were not disclosed, and it remains unclear if any were Venezuelan. The Venezuelan groups' key demands include public federal figures on detained Venezuelans, ensuring administrative delays do not lead to job loss for those awaiting documentation, and transparency regarding agreements with countries that accept deportees. The termination of TPS, decreed in 2025, remains under legal challenge at the Supreme Court. In 2024, an estimated 1.2 million people of Venezuelan origin resided in the United States, with over 40% in Florida.

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The Tren de Aragua is a real criminal organization, but membership must be proven individually, without nationality, appearance, tattoos, or circumstantial associations replacing proof.