DHS wants Venezuelans to return home, but fears intensify as Maduro regime remains in power : NPR

Anti-Maduro protesters display Venezuelan flags outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, New York on Monday, January 5.

José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR

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José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR

The last few days have been full of emotions for Sebastian, a 28-year-old Venezuelan architect who lives in Miami.

Sebastian, who asked to be identified by his first name due to his ongoing immigration case, said he was happy to learn US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela in the early hours of January 3.

“I felt a sense of relief, because I thought there would be a sea change in the country,” he told NPR. “Maybe things would be different.”

But at a news conference later in the day, President Trump said his administration had a conversation with Delcy RodríguezMaduro’s deputy and vice president. Asset said her administration was working with her towards American plans to run the country.

This announcement left Sebastian disappointed. He said he believed the danger was still present in Venezuela.

But the Trump administration says it is safe for Venezuelans to return to their country, especially those who were in the United States under temporary protected status, or TPS. Administration completed the program for more than 600,000 Venezuelans last year, saying conditions in the country had improved.

Tricia McLaughlin, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News on Sunday“The good news for those who come from Venezuela with temporary protected status is that they can now return home with hope for their country – a country they love – that there will be peace, prosperity and stability.”

But Sebastian, who arrived in the United States in 2023 and suffers from TPS, said that doesn’t make sense.

“The Trump administration has been saying for a year that conditions have changed for good in Venezuela,” Sebastian said. “But I would ask: If the United States has to extract a man who took power, how am I supposed to believe that the situation in Venezuela is good? It’s contradictory, I see the opposite: the situation is worse.”

The State Department advised U.S. citizens should not travel to Venezuela “due to serious risks to Americans, including wrongful detention, torture in custody, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”

On Monday, at least 14 journalists – mostly from international news organizations – were arrested in Venezuela, according to the National Union of Press Workers of Venezuela. There is also reports that armed groups are already working to suppress any support for Maduro’s ouster.

Luis Falcón said returning to Venezuela under these conditions can expose those who return to extreme risks. He arrived in the United States in 2017 after fleeing persecution.

He worked for the Presidential Honor Guard, the security detail assigned to presidents and their family members. But after retiring in 2009, he began joining protests against the Maduro government. The authorities threatened him with prison time for betraying the country and he decided to leave Venezuela.

“I am grateful for the big step taken in Venezuela,” Falcón said. “But this is the beginning of the end. There is still a long way to go before Venezuela becomes a country of freedoms, opportunities and justice for Venezuelans who have been part of the opposition.”

He said coming back now was impossible.

“Setting a foot again in Venezuela means I will be taken to prison, tortured and potentially killed,” Falcón said.

He says TPS should be reinstated for Venezuelans until there is a government transition. But the Trump administration has stepped up its efforts to ensure that Venezuelans living in the country with temporary status must leave.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that “Venezuela is freer today than it was yesterday.” She added that each person receiving TPS “has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and the assessment will continue.”

However, immigration lawyers said that was misleading.

“To say that someone can apply for refugee status in the United States — the generous interpretation is that she misspoke,” said Lily Axelrod, an immigration attorney based in Memphis, Tennessee. “The less generous interpretation is that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about or that she’s lying.”

To apply for refugee status, she said, an immigrant must be outside the United States. Axelrod said Venezuelans in the United States can still seek asylum, although it could be a challenge, especially after the Trump administration. suspended all asylum decisions in November.

“It’s a scary time, but maybe also a hopeful time,” Axelrod said. “We would all like to see democracy and peace in Venezuela and we would all like to see opportunities for Venezuelans who want to stay here.”