For the 350,000 Venezuelans granted temporary protected status in 2023, the Trump administration revoked it six days after taking office. Since the Department of Homeland Security did nothing to determine if it was safe to return to the poor, crime-ridden nation, a nonpartisan study group now claims the decision is probably unlawful.
Four days after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and 17 other Republican attorneys general called on the immigrant-averse administration to reconsider counties’ Temporary Protected Status designations, Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem revoked the safeguards.
Yost did not mention any of the places he said were safe to return to. His office said that it wasn’t Yost’s responsibility when asked to.
Due to economic mismanagement by anti-democratic socialists Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has been in poverty for the past ten years and is thought to have the highest crime rate in the world. Mega-gangs that deal in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnappings, and contract assassinations are allegedly in charge of the nation. Additionally, the Maduro regime has been accused of narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, and other offenses by the U.S. Justice Department.
The 350,000 Venezuelans who are protected by Noem’s ruling have 60 days from the date of issuance to go unless it is obstructed.
However, a report published last week by the National Foundation for American Policy claims that Noem’s administration failed to take the necessary steps to guarantee that sending individuals back there is safe.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem concluded that Venezuela has made significant progress in a number of areas, but she did not provide any sources for her judgment in the Federal Register notification terminating Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status. That was in contrast to the analysis DHS provided two weeks prior under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was appointed by Biden, and which listed 52 sources to back its judgment that the situation in Venezuela justified the maintenance of TPS.
According to the investigation, Noem’s behavior most likely broke the law.
According to the study, ignoring important aspects of the TPS statute in order to accomplish a political goal is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. In the 2019 case of Saget v. Trump, a district judge issued a nationwide injunction after concluding that the Trump administration’s suspension of TPS for Haiti was probably illegal. According to the court, the series of events that culminated in the decision to terminate Haiti’s TPS was a clear deviation from standard process and suggested a predetermined outcome that was not supported by an impartial evaluation but rather by a politically driven goal.
Noem, who had just taken office, declared that members of the gang Tren de Aragua had protected status and were committing crimes, therefore TPS for Venezuela was not in the country’s best interests when he revoked the status of Venezuelans who had been awarded it in 2023.
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According to the research group Insight Crime, there isn’t much proof that the gang members are committing a lot of crimes in the US, much less while they are granted Temporary Protected Status. According to the study, such accusations might instead be used as a pretext for the mass deportations of Venezuelans who were previously persuaded that they could remain in the United States because returning home would be too risky.
Another pertinent information included in the National Foundation for American Policy research is that criminals do not have their protected status renewed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Yost asserted that several countries were now secure in a statement announcing his request that the Trump administration take into account removing their Temporary Protected Status designations.
Yost, who is running for governor in 2026, claimed that the program has been implemented too loosely, permitting noncitizens to remain here permanently even after it is safe for them to go back home.
He did not specify a specific beneficiary or a safe TPS-designated nation. Eleven of these 17 nations are listed on the U.S. State Department’s list of countries not to visit. Whether because to civil instability, criminal gangs, or extrajudicial arrests, torture, and executions by their governments, all face serious security issues.
Given that it continues to exist in a condition of near-anarchy, Haiti is a special situation. However, despite the evidence and the earlier court decision against him, Trump and a few Ohio lawmakers attacked Haitians in Springfield last summer.
After Trump and now-Vice President J.D. Vance propagated the racist myth that Haitian refugees were stealing and consuming their neighbors’ pets, they were terrified. This led to reports of violent attacks against Haitian migrants and dozens of bomb threats, even at elementary schools.
By falsely equating assertions made by the municipal government that Haitian residents were not doing what those rumors claimed with claims circulating through the rumor mill, Yost joined the pile-on.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.