Johann Teran had big goals for his first two years in the United States: he planned to save money for law school and become an attorney, and he wanted to bring his wife to Minnesota from their native Venezuela.
Even though Teran was a lawyer in Venezuela, he and his wife struggled to afford groceries there because of high inflation and a lack of employment opportunities. He immigrated to the United States last year with help from a sponsor, and later moved in with his mother-in-law in Minnesota. He was granted humanitarian parole, a temporary immigration status that protected him from deportation and also authorized him to work in the United States for at least two years.
But the 27-year-old’s hopes to build a stable life in Minnesota are now gone.
On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, he terminated humanitarian parole for people in four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The program allows U.S. citizens to sponsor immigrants who meet specific criteria, and who complete security and financial background checks.
“I’m just preparing myself,” Teran said about his future. “With this information, I will not be able to get to my goal, because how? I need to prepare for my way out if I need to go out.”
The United States typically grants humanitarian parole to immigrants who face severe economic hardships or violence in their countries, among other reasons.
Trump also ordered the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who are currently living in the United States and who applied for TPS in 2023. That means the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuelans living in the United States expires on April 7.
Temporary Protected Status is granted when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deems it too dangerous for individuals to return to their home countries. Sixteen other countries are designated for TPS for various reasons, including national disasters and war. TPS is separate from humanitarian parole, but also allows immigrants to legally live and work in the country as long as the U.S. government keeps the TPS designation active.
Trump’s administration is not expected to extend TPS for Venezuelans who received it in 2021. That TPS designation is set to expire in September.
Homeland Security estimates that there are 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States with TPS. About half of them are from the 2023 designation.
Immigrants who lose TPS or humanitarian parole are no longer allowed to work legally in the United States and face risk of deportation if they don’t have other legal protected status, such as political asylum.
The orders are part of Trump’s promise to conduct the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said conditions have improved enough in Venezuela to strip temporary protected status.
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Local Venezuelans react
Minnesota’s tight-knit Venezuelan community has nearly doubled since 2021, totalling about 3,000 residents as of 2023, according to the Census Bureau.
Teran’s mother in law, Marlenia Padron, is among those, having moved to the state in 2021 because she feared for her safety in Venezuela after she was robbed and kidnapped by President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Maduro leads the country’s authoritarian government that has committed significant human rights violations, including unlawful torture and killings.
She was granted TPS from the 2023 designation, and is waiting to hear whether her request to stay in the United States under political asylum has been approved. Political asylum would allow her to pursue U.S. citizenship.
“We are very very worried,” Padron said. “I’m afraid of what will happen to Venezuelans, because it’s too fast and drastic.
“There’s a lot the world doesn’t know about what’s happening in Venezuela. There’s no law in Venezuela. They [Maduro’s regime] don’t care about integrity if you’re not like them… Just thinking about going back, I’m afraid.”
More than one in four Venezuelans have left the country due to political and economic turmoil, according to the United Nations.
Rodney Guerrero, 27, said he was threatened by Venezuela’s regime because of his involvement with his university’s political opposition movement. He has lived in Minnesota on humanitarian parole since March 2024.
Back in Venezuela, he said, his mother makes $80 a month working at a public school, which isn’t enough to live on. He works as a merchandiser and sends money back home to help his mother and sister.
“As refugees, we have to respect any president and respect their efforts of maintaining their country, but also we’re asking for empathy for those who come here [the United States] for a better life,” he said. “In Venezuela, we live without basic needs like electricity and water. And here, it’s a totally different life.”
Many local Venezuelans say their community has been unfairly painted by some as criminals. During his campaign, Trump threatened to end TPS for Venezuela, saying that TPS was used as an entryway for criminals and the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
“I’m Venezuelan, but not a criminal,” Guerrero said. “We’re all identified as that, but we’re not that.”
Ederick Lokpez, a Venezuelan U.S. citizen, called Trump’s decision to revoke TPS and humanitarian parole for Venezuleans contradictory. The U.S. government is revoking TPS and humanitarian parole, he said, even as news articles indicate that the U.S. government has repeatedly denounced Maduro’s regime, called his reelection a fraud, charged him for narco-terrorism and increased the award for information leading to his arrest.
Casa De Venezuela is a national organization that promotes Venezuelan culture and provides services to Venezuelans in the United States. Luciano Carrero, president of the group’s Minnesota chapter, said the organization is looking for ways to keep Venezuelans in the United States legally.
Trump’s attempts to revoke TPS during his first term as president were successfully blocked by legal challenges and administrative delays. But this time, it’s unclear if his orders will be blocked before TPS and humanitarian parole expire.
Immigrants with TPS or humanitarian parole can still apply for other legal status if they are eligible, said Hanne Sandison, director of the Advocates for Human Rights’ Refugee and Immigrant Program.
“The machinery of the U.S. immigration system is very slow, but I do know there are things that folks can apply for in that two-month window,” she said.
Soleil Ramirez, a local Venezuelan chef and business owner, said she understands how long the immigration process can take. Last week, she had her interview with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office about her pending political asylum case, nearly a decade after she arrived in the country in 2016.
Starting in April, Ramirez plans to host dinners with local Latino chefs to raise money for Venezuelans in Minnesota.
Sandison advises people who are at risk of losing TPS or humanitarian parole to consult with an immigration lawyer as soon as possible. Immigrants who lose their legal status are still protected in other ways under the U.S. Constitution, she added.
