The Chicago May Day rally that, among other things, called for protection of immigrant rights (Photo by Igor Studenkov/For Chronicle Media) 

The U.S. Supreme Court order allowing the federal government to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan immigrants who arrived in the United States after July 30, 2023, has once against plunged the Chicago area Venezuelan community into uncertainty.  

The TPS is a legal status that allows immigrants from countries facing war, natural disasters, economic collapse and other dangerous conditions to live and work in the United States until the conditions in their home countries improve. While the Biden administration extended TPS for more recent Venezuelan arrivals, under the second Trump administration, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristen Noem revoked the extension. While a lawsuit stopped her order from taking effect, a May 19 Supreme Court decision lifted the block on the order while the lawsuit is appealed.  

Ana Gil-Garcia, co-founder of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, told Chronicle Media that the community is grappling with the uncertainty over what the decision means for their ability to live, work or even file for another legal status. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website still deadlines for when, for example, work permits expire — something that, she said, the community is worried can change any time. And while federal officials pointed to the fact that Venezuelans can apply for asylum, Gil-Garcia said that many Venezuelans worry that they wouldn’t be able to meet the legal burden of proof.  

There are 14 TPS designated countries. In Venezuela’s case, there were two designations — one for immigrants that arrived after March 8, 2021, and one for immigrants who arrived after July 30, 2023. Both designations cited economic hardships and political repressions under President Nicholas Maduro.  

On Jan. 10, then-Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas extended TPS eligibility for Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela for 18 months. Noem revoked both extensions, which meant that the status was to expire on April 7 for 2024 arrivals, and on Sept. 10 for 2021 arrivals. She justified her decision by arguing that the human rights and economic situation has improved in Venezuela. 

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s ongoing fact-finding mission continued to track human rights abuses since that decision. In May 15, it reported widespread practice of detaining and disappearing of Maduro’s political opponents.  

“The recent case of Eduardo Torres, a lawyer, human rights defender and member of the Education-Action Program on Human Rights, who has been missing since May 9 at (4 p.m.), illustrates the lack of legal protection,” stated the press release. “Family members and attorneys waited for hours outside the Palace of Justice, unable to submit a habeas corpus petition due to the presiding judge’s refusal. The Constitutional Chamber eventually agreed to receive the petition on May 12, but as of the date of this statement, no decision has been reported.” 

Gil-Garcia said that the economic situation hasn’t improved, either. 

“Before, people in Chicago were able to send money (to family members in Venezuela),” she said. “But the inflation is so huge that whatever we send is pennies.” 

On Feb. 20, the National TPS Alliance advocacy organization sued Noem, alleging that she violated federal law because the law that established the TPS program doesn’t allow early terminations after the extension. They also argued that Noem’s stated reasons for revoking the extension were based on stereotypes about Venezuelans, which would violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.  

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen sided with the TPS Alliance, ordering Noem to leave the extension of the 2023 TPS in place. The federal government appealed, and, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit declined to pause Chen’s order while it considered the appeal, it appealed to the Supreme Court.  

The Supreme Court order stopped the order, but it didn’t stop the lawsuit itself, nor does it stop anyone from filing other lawsuits against Noem’s decision.  

In a statement to Chronicle Media, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which provides a variety of programs and services for all immigrants, decried the decision. 

“This week the Supreme Court allowed Trump and the Department of Homeland Security to once again sow panic and confusion among our communities,” said ICIRR spokesperson Brandon Lee. “ICIRR and our members remain committed to building community regardless of any future Supreme Court decisions, and make sure everyone in our communities know their rights. We also understand that everyone’s situation is different, and recommend that potentially affected community members consult with an immigration attorney.” 

Gil-Garcia estimates that around 11,000 TPS eligible Venezuelan immigrants currently live in the Chicago area, but only about 9,000 of them got the TPS status.  

While the asylum seeker status allows them to reside in the United States while their application is being processed, it doesn’t allow them to legally work. A TPS removed that restriction, allowed them to travel and created firmer protections from deportation. 

As of May 22, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services page on TPS status for Venezuelans acknowledges the Supreme Court decision, but the information otherwise remains the same as it was before the decision. Most notably, for post-2023 arrivals, it still says that employment authorization is extended until April 2, 2026, and that TPS is still valid until Oct. 2, 2026. 

“Homeland Security hasn’t talked yet about when is the last day that the TPS holders have to leave the country,” Gil-Garcia said. “They keep working, those that have work authorization, but they know, whenever (USCIS0 says “tomorrow is the deadline,” they’re going to be out of work.” 

The Associated Press and Chicago Tribune reported that ICE agents have been detaining asylum-seekers and other immigrants without permanent residency as they headed to immigration courts. This is just one of the reasons, Gil-Garcia said, why some Venezuelans are afraid to leave the house, the way they were before Chen’s ruling. 

While federal officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Venezuelans can always apply for asylum, Gil-Garcia said it wasn’t that simple. Applicants need to provide documents or other evidence providing that they specifically were persecuted and/or were in danger if they returned. A media article mentioning them by name or a police report could be proof, Gil-Garcia said, “but there are many people who don’t have that.” 

One option the community is exploring, she said, is citing the Simon Bolivar Act, the law Venezuelan government passed last year that, among other things, calls for prison sentences against citizens who protested the results of the country’s July 2024 election. Several Venezuelan organizations in the United States, including the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, held rallies decrying that election as stolen and supporting opposition candidate Edmundo González.  

“Simon Bolivar Act may be a good document that can be used as evidence for people not being able to leave the country and go back to Venezuela safely,” Gil-Garcia said. 

For now, she said, Venezuelan community organizations are trying to strategize about potential protests and legal action, but they didn’t have any concrete plans of press time. Their one hope, Gil-Garcia said, was that the appeals court rules in their favor — but that decision isn’t expected until July. 

“We are really in a place right now, where for two months, this population is in limbo,” she said. “People are asking us for things we cannot provide, and we’re trying to calm people. Just telling them to try to calm down.”