ORLANDO, Fla. – Following the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, officials from President Donald Trump’s administration have indicated it’s now safe for Venezuelans in exile to return to their homeland.
“The positive news for Venezuelans currently in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status is that they can now return home with renewed hope for their country,” stated Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, in a conversation with Fox News after the recent military intervention in Venezuela.
[WATCH: Maduro claims ‘I was captured’ while pleading not guilty to drug trafficking charges]
Last year, President Trump ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over half a million Venezuelans residing in the U.S., citing improvements in Venezuela’s situation.
“With that status, I could work and had the chance to continue my studies,” Marcelo Ferrer told News 6 on Friday.
Ferrer, a University of Central Florida graduate as of 2023, mentioned that he and his family fled Venezuela back in 2018.
“We would have blackouts in the middle of our classes, which means no lights, no AC, none of that,” Ferrer said, describing his educational experience in Venezuela.
Ferrer said he is relieved that Maduro is no longer in power, but he is skeptical of the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president.
“I will be grateful if [Trump] removes Maduro and the rest of the regime,” Ferrer said. “They’re still part of Venezuela.”
[WATCH: Venezuelans see hope in Maduro’s ouster]
Like Ferrer, Giovanny Hernandez also believes it is not yet safe to return to Venezuela, despite Maduro’s departure.
“It’s not free,” Hernandez argued.
The 21-year-old UCF junior was granted TPS from 2021 to 2025. He is now in the process of applying for political asylum.
Both Ferrer and Hernandez expressed gratitude for the United States’ role in removing Maduro, but they cited the uncertainty about the country’s future in arguing that Trump should restore TPS to those who had the status removed.
“We follow everything,” Ferrer said in a direct plea to Trump. “We work and we study, and we will ask you that you give us something that we lost. And that is the Temporary Protected Status.”
News 6 reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security on Friday.
In an email to the White House, News 6 asked about the potential restoration of TPS for Venezuelans, as well as the cadence of deportations of Venezuelans back to their home country.
A White House spokesperson did not comment on questions regarding TPS, but did refer to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s previous comments that the administration’s deportation policies “have not changed.”
News 6 did not receive a response from DHS at the time of publication Friday.
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