NEW YORK – The U.S. Bishops have called the Trump administration’s decision to revoke temporary legal protections for Venezuelan immigrants “counterproductive to the administration’s stated goal of reducing strain on American communities.”

“We urge them to consider the adverse impact this step will have on citizens and noncitizens alike,” Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Bishops told Crux in a Feb. 3 statement. “Terminating this temporary legal protection that allows people to work, pay taxes, and contribute to our society will only lead to more disruption and would appear to risk diverting the focus of enforcement efforts away from legitimate threats to public safety.”

“We urge the Administration to work with Congress on a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration system that would provide for well-regulated borders and humane, orderly immigration,” Noguchi continued.

Created through the Immigration Act of 1990, Temporary Protected Status allows a presidential administration to grant temporary protections to immigrants who come to the United States from nations beset by war, environmental disasters, an epidemic, or other emergencies.

A TPS designation can be made for 6, 12, or 18 months at a time. At least 60 days prior to the expiration of a country’s TPS designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security must decide based on the conditions in said country to either extend or terminate the status.

Venezuela has two separate TPS designations authorized by the Biden administration, specifically then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. One of the designations was granted in 2021, while the other was granted in 2023. Both were for 18 months.

Venezuelans approved for protections under the 2023 designation will now lose their status on April 2, as current Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has vacated an 18 month extension granted by Mayorkas on Jan. 17. The extension would’ve allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants to keep TPS until Oct. 2, 2026.

The 2021 designation runs through Sept. 10, and remains unchanged.

Further, a notice from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted to the Federal Register on Feb. 3, and signed by Kristi Noem, states that “pursuant to this vacatur, USCIS will no longer accept Venezuela TPS re-registration applications and associated Applications for Employment Authorization filed under the Mayorkas notice.”

According to government statistics, there are 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants eligible for TPS.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, an organization focused on immigration law and advocacy, called the decision to revoke temporary legal protections for Venezuelan immigrants “a betrayal” of the nation’s duty to protect the most vulnerable.

“This decision is a betrayal of our nation’s moral and legal obligations to protect those fleeing violence and persecution,” Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network said in a Jan. 30 statement. “Stripping temporary legal protections from Venezuelans not only exposes a very vulnerable population to deportation but also contradicts our core values as a nation rooted in values of justice and protecting the oppressed.”

Reached by Crux, USCIS declined to comment on the decision, but shared a different termination notice signed by Noem with a publication date of Feb. 5. Summarizing the decision, the notice states that “after reviewing country conditions and considering whether permitting Venezuelan nationals covered by the 2023 designation is contrary to the national interest of the United States … the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the 2023 designation.”

“In particular, the Secretary has determined it is contrary to the national interest to permit the covered Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States,” the notice continues, which is a rationale in line with the broad message of both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance regarding TPS and how it factors into their plans for mass deportations.

In granting Venezuelans TPS, Mayorkas highlighted a “severe humanitarian emergency” in the country that included economic contraction, inflation, deepening poverty, high levels of unemployment, reduced access to and shortages of food and medicine, a weak medical system, a collapse in basic services; water, electricity and fuel shortages; human rights abuses, crime and violence, corruption, and more.

In disputing the Trump administration’s decision, CLINIC argued that Venezuela “remains in the throes of a dire humanitarian crisis, with rampant political oppression, food shortages, and economic hardship forcing millions to flee.” The organization called the Biden administration’s TPS extension “a lifeline for those who have sought refuge in the United States.”

Gallagher called the Trump administration’s decision an “affront” to Catholic Social Teaching.

“We must not allow political agendas to dictate who is worthy of protection,” Gallagher said. “Our Catholic faith compels us to speak out against such injustice and to advocate for policies that affirm the dignity of every human life.”