Cortez Masto Joins Colleagues in Calling on Trump Administration to Reinstate TPS for Venezuela

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined 18 of her colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to reconsider the Trump Administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who applied for TPS under its designation in 2023. The Administration's decision to revoke this critical protection has been temporarily put on hold by a court order, postponing the harm it will cause to approximately 350,000 people who remain at risk of losing TPS.

"Contrary to your assertion that 'there are notable improvements in several areas, such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned,' the country conditions in Venezuela have deteriorated significantly since 2023, as discussed in detail below," the senators wrote. "There is no credible evidence demonstrating substantive improvements in the human rights or security situation at this time. Nicolas Maduro's third term began in January 2025 and has thus far has been characterized by political violence, violent crime, and corruption."

"For the reasons discussed above, we ask that you reconsider your February 1, 2025 decision and instead extend TPS for Venezuelans in the United States for the maximum statutory period of 18 months. Congress intended TPS to be both a humanitarian tool and a pragmatic response to unstable conditions abroad," they continued.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

The first and only Latina senator, Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported immigrant communities in Nevada, calling on both administrations to protect TPS holders and other immigrants, as well as leading commonsense legislation to fix our broken immigration system. Cortez Masto joined Senator Rosen (D-Nev.) in introducing the Born in the USA Act to effectively block the implementation of President Trump's unconstitutional Executive Order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. She has worked to pass meaningful immigration reform that balances critical border security measures with a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers, and she's pushed legislation to allow Dreamers and TPS holders to work in Congress.

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