U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recommended the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, according to an internal letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“The U.S. Department of State has assessed that permitting nationals of Venezuela to remain temporarily in the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1254a is contrary to the national interest of the United States,” Rubio wrote in the January 31 letter. “Accordingly, I recommend that you terminate the designation of Venezuela pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A)-(B).”
The letter came to light during a federal court case in which Venezuelan advocacy groups, including the Venezuelan American Caucus, sued the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to maintain the protections granted under the Biden administration in January.
The Trump administration appealed the decision and the Rubio letter surfaced as part of the government’s filings.
Activists shocked by reversal
“I am not surprised but still painful and impactful and shocking,” said Adelys Ferro, a Venezuelan activist and founder of the Venezuelan American Caucus, in an interview with CBS News Miami. Ferro’s group is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking to extend TPS for 18 more months.
“This is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former Senator Marco Rubio, former TPS sponsor for Venezuelans Marco Rubio in 2019, who supported the courage of the Venezuelan people,” Ferro said, expressing dismay at what she described as a stunning policy reversal.
In March 2022, Rubio had urged the Biden administration to extend TPS protections for Venezuelans, citing the ongoing crisis under Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Now, as Secretary of State, Rubio’s recommendation would end those protections, regardless of when individuals applied.
“It is painful, but I think it is very revealing and I think we are finally knowing and discovering the real support that some elected officials do for us in the United States,” Ferro added.
CBS News Miami contacted Rubio’s office for comment, but no response was received.
