Thousands of Venezuelans in Chicago face deportation after Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end TPS program
Temporary Protected Status allows migrants to live and work in the U.S. without the threat of deportation, although it does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tried to terminate the TPS program for Venezuelans in February, but the move was previously blocked by a lower court. On Monday, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to lift the lower court's injunction. That could impact thousands of Venezuelan immigrants living in Chicago.
"Every single person that we helped apply – because we helped them in 2023 – is going to be impacted by this," said Erendira Rendon, vice president for immigrant justice at the Resurrection Project, which has helped 9,000 Venezuelans in Illinois apply for TPS and asylum status. "Without Temporary Protected Status, if somebody never applied for asylum, they are in fact eligible for deportation, and they're at risk for deportation."
Since Aug. 31, 2022, Chicago officials estimated the city has welcomed approximately 51,000 migrants from the southern border. A study done by Northeastern University last fall estimated about 30,000 of those people are from Venezuela, and have settled in neighborhoods like Brighton Park.
"Right now, it seems like a rollercoaster because of all the changes," said Ana Alejandre, a shelter-based care manager at Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.
The council has helped new arrivals find a home in Chicago. Thanks to the TPS program, they said those same immigrants have been able to get jobs to pay rent and pay taxes.
"All of us that work and contribute to this country, we all get taxes deducted. Undocumented people, they also get taxes deducted, Social Security," Alejandre said.
For many Venezuelans, the fear is now overwhelming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could use details from TPS applications to find people now eligible for deportation.
"Retaliation. Coming and looking for them, knowing where they live, where they work," Alejandere said.
It's not clear when TPS for Venezuelans will be terminated and deportation efforts could begin.
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