National TPS Alliance protested the termination of TPS for Venezuelans

On Thursday, members of the National TPS Alliance and other allied organizations rallied outside the Pasadena Job Center to announce a lawsuit to appeal the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extension for Venezuelans. The termination puts more than 600,000 immigrants at risk, and 350,000 of them could lose their status as soon as April 7th.

The lawsuit was introduced on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and challenges the unprecedented decision made by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who has described Venezuelan nationals living in the country as “dirtbags” and equated TPS holders to members of criminal gang Tren de Aragua. The documents cite Noem’s comments and argue that the sudden termination is driven by a discriminatory animus, in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

“The immigrant community is coming together to defend the TPS protection for friends and family members from Venezuela. We all know that the attack to the Venezuelan TPS from the Trump administration is not isolated. It is part of his campaign against immigrants, especially and with no doubt, against immigrants from Latin America,” said José Palma, co-coordinator of the National TPS Alliance, in his opening statement.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Migration Policy Institute, almost 30,000 Venezuelans are living in California, with at least 8,000 residing in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Many of them depend on TPS to maintain a legal status in the country.

“(These decisions) are attacks on very large numbers of immigrant community members… and of course, these aren't just individuals, they live in families, they have children, they live in communities. So huge spots of our country are hurt by decisions like this” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law and part of the legal team behind the lawsuit.

As a lawyer on the Ramos v. Nielsen case, which ended in victory for TPS holders from El Salvador, Haití, Nicaragua and Sudan, Arulanantham argued that the Venezuelan case has some of the same characteristics. “If anything, this time is even worse. Even clearer,” he stated.

Hendrina Vivas Castillo, one of the eight plaintiffs, shared her story with the crowd. She viewed the 2023 TPS designation as an opportunity to start a new life in safety, especially after one of her business partners was unlawfully detained and threatened by government officials with 20 years in prison. Vivas now works as a delivery driver in Los Angeles, a job that allows her to provide financial support for her daughter and parents back in Venezuela.

There were other Venezuelans in the gathering with similar stories. Rocío Piña has lived in the state for the past four years and, much like Vivas, makes a living as a DoorDash and Uber driver. “We came here fleeing the bad things that are happening in Venezuela to try and survive and help our families back home… We want help to continue working. We are part of the good people,” she said.

During the meeting, many advocates highlighted TPS as a legal, non-partisan program that has protected people who cannot safely return to their countries for the past 35 years. And for Venezuelans in the United States, going back at this time is a threat in itself. As of February 17th, local NGO Foro Penal reported there are 1,061 political prisoners in Venezuela. The whereabouts of 58 of them remain unknown.

“I grew up very aware that what was happening in Venezuela was not right and now, in this new (Trump) administration, I see very similar patterns,” said Cecilia González, co-founder of the Venezuelan American Caucus and also one of the plaintiffs of the lawsuit. 

“My commitment is to the migrant cause, to the Venezuelan cause… So, beyond the fear, the anxiety that this can generate, it fills me with satisfaction to know that, at the end of the day, we will have made an impact on the history of Venezuelans in this country,” she added.