Venezuela's main opposition coalition, Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD), warned Sunday that the recent termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States leaves an estimated 600,000 Venezuelans vulnerable to detention and deportation and urged the Trump administration to offer a different protection channel for them.
TPS protected Venezuelans who fled the country's prolonged crisis and had been residing in the U.S. since 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in October in favor of the Trump administration's move to revoke the protection, ruling that left roughly 350,000 Venezuelans immediately at risk of deportation, while protections for an additional 250,000 expired November 7.
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In a statement, the coalition said that Venezuelans "did not emigrate by choice" but because "it was the only way to safeguard the lives, well-being, and futures of their families." It described TPS not as a privilege, but as a measure that allowed families to "live with stability, work legally, and rebuild their lives while Venezuela fights to recover its democracy."
The group urged U.S. authorities to review the decision and develop a mechanism guaranteeing lawful presence, particularly for those who "have demonstrated themselves to be exemplary residents in the communities where they live." Ending the program without an alternative "generates unjust and unnecessary uncertainty," it said.
Expresamos nuestra profunda preocupación por el fin del TPS para los venezolanos en EE.UU.
— Unidad Venezuela (@unidadvenezuela) November 9, 2025
Miles de compatriotas quedarían en situación de vulnerabilidad, tras huir por necesidad de nuestro pais a causa de la grave crisis humanitaria que enfrentamos.
Ser venezolano no es un… pic.twitter.com/o3iOf8fibX
Opposition figures Edmundo González Urrutia and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado had previously shared a similar position on Friday, saying they had appealed directly to both the Trump administration and Congress. "We work day and night to achieve from U.S. authorities a review of the case and the issuance of a status that protects them," they said in a joint statement.
"Being Venezuelan must never again be synonymous with being a refugee," their statement continued. They argued that the long-term solution is political change inside Venezuela, asserting that "the greatest protection is to recover freedom, restore the value of the passport, and have a democratic government that defends its people."
Sobre la protección a los migrantes venezolanos.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) November 7, 2025
Venezuela será nuestro lugar seguro muy pronto. pic.twitter.com/sokCEJop9C
The opposition coalition reaffirmed that it remains committed to defending migrants' rights "wherever we have a voice." The group said Venezuelans abroad should not be criminalized, adding: "Being Venezuelan is not a crime. Being a migrant is not a crime."
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