Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are urging the administration to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans after two major earthquakes destroyed homes, hospitals and schools and took thousands of lives last week.
In the letter sent to President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the members said the earthquakes have compounded Venezuela's longstanding economic and social instability, overwhelming the country's ability to respond.
Chairman and Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) said last week’s earthquakes have made an “already dire humanitarian crisis” significantly worse.
“The facts on the ground are becoming more alarming each day,” Rep. Espaillat said on X. “Now is the time to act. Venezuelans should not be returned to a country struggling to respond to an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.”
According to the letter, the two earthquakes have left 1,719 people dead, with tens of thousands still missing as of June 29.
The caucus wrote that humanitarian assistance alone is not enough to support Venezuelans as living conditions grow worse by the day.
“Hospitals and schools in Venezuela have been destroyed, and rescue crews are still searching through the rubble,” Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) said in a video posted on X. “The President must immediately redesignate Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela. Venezuelans cannot safely return home.”
This demand to reinstate TPS comes just days after the United States Supreme Court ruled to end the program for Haitians and Syrians, prompting some lawmakers to argue that the temporary status needed to end at some point. However, TPS for Venezuelans ended a year ago, leading to the deportation of many.
“Now, sending people back would be unthinkable,” Rep. Garcia said.
Rep. Joaquin Castro said hours after the earthquakes killed over 1,900 people, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to deport Venezuelan children and families detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
“They were woken up in the middle of the night and sent to Arizona on their way to Venezuela,” Rep. Castro said, adding that the families were ultimately sent back to Dilley but now worry they could be deported at any time.
The New York Times reported that 146 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. arrived just a few hours before the first earthquake last week. The deportees were held in a state-wide facility and were told they’d be released the next day after they were processed.
In addition to his fellow members' demands, Rep. Castro is also calling on the Trump Administration to shut down the Dilley Detention Center.
“It is unthinkable to send children and families, who have committed no crimes, into a country plunged into chaos by natural disaster,” Rep. Castro said.
