Petition with over 130,000 signatures urges Congress to restore TPS for Venezuelans a month after deadly earthquakes

A new push is underway to reinstate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans living in the U.S. The National TPS Alliance reports it has collected more than 130,000 signatures on a petition addressed to Congress.

"We will continue collecting more signatures and keep putting pressure on them and asking them to do what they need to do, which is protect our families," said Arnoldo Diaz with the alliance.

Immigrants from countries granted TPS are shielded from deportation. This status is applied to individuals from nations dealing with natural disasters or other crises.

The Trump administration ended TPS for approximately 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. last year, including many residing in South Florida. Critics of TPS argue the program is intended to be temporary and should not be repeatedly extended.

In light of last month's massive earthquakes, Diaz argues for reinstatement. "We're asking them to do the right thing, the right humanitarian thing to do to keep these people protected," he said.

Adelys Ferro noted that beyond the ongoing situation in Venezuela, those who lost TPS fear U.S. immigration enforcement operations. "You have no idea what's happening in our community," Ferro said. "People are actually terrified to even go out to work, to take their kids to the doctor."

Immigration attorney Angel Alvarez stated that there have been no reports of deportation flights arriving in Venezuela since the earthquakes. He argues that Venezuela meets the criteria for TPS.

"Under the immigration and nationality law, there are some requirements, and we comply with all the requirements in order to get TPS," Alvarez said.