Republican Congresswoman from Florida María Elvira Salazar posted a video on X this Friday in which she demands that the more than 500,000 Venezuelans who are in a migratory limbo in the United States be allowed to stay in the country with work permits and protected from deportation while the democratic transition in Venezuela advances.
"While Venezuela stabilizes, we must allow them to stay here, with work permits and protected from deportations. The reality is clear: Venezuela is still not safe for return," Salazar stated in the video.
The legislator acknowledged that Nicolás Maduro is imprisoned and "will spend the rest of his days in a federal prison," but warned that this does not mean that the Caribbean country is safe for the return of its citizens.
"In the meantime, there are 500 thousand Venezuelans living in the country who are currently in a migratory limbo because they do not have TPS," Salazar pointed out, using the English acronym for Temporary Protected Status.
The video was published two days after Salazar herself signed a petition for discharge to force a vote in the House of Representatives on the TPS Venezuela Act (H.R. 3310), a bipartisan initiative proposing to extend the program for an additional 18 months.
The backdrop of their statements is a legal crisis affecting between 500,000 and 600,000 Venezuelans since the Trump administration canceled TPS in January 2025, citing improved conditions in Venezuela.
The Supreme Court authorized in October 2025 the implementation of that cancellation for over 300,000 Venezuelans, suspending previous rulings that blocked it.
In January 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the cancellation illegal, but the Supreme Court maintains its authorization for implementation, leaving the legal fate of these migrants on a judicial rollercoaster.
The expiration dates for TPS are staggered: September 2025 for those who obtained the status in 2021, and April 2026 for beneficiaries of 2023.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the end of TPS on January 4, 2026, one day after the capture of Maduro, arguing that Venezuela was now "stable" and that migrants could return.
However, analysts from the Washington Office on Latin American Affairs (WOLA) note in March 2026 that, two months after Maduro's departure, the authoritarian structures of Chavismo persist and the democratic transition is not guaranteed.
Salazar, who represents the FL-27 district where more than 40,000 Venezuelans reside, framed his position in the logic of transition rather than in an unrestricted defense of immigration, which grants him political support within the Republican Party.
The trial against Maduro is progressing in parallel: last Thursday, the judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected in New York the motion by the defense to dismiss the charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons, all of which carry a potential life sentence.
"I am the first one defending the rights of those Venezuelans who want to return to the country but still cannot, because the process of recovery and transition is underway. Therefore, count on me, for I am with you," Salazar concluded.
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