The Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States, according to a copy of the decision obtained by The New York Times.
On Tuesday, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, decided to revoke the 18-month extension of what is known as Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to help people in the United States who cannot return safely and immediately to their country because of a natural disaster or an armed conflict. The move is a blow to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who believed they would not only be protected from deportation but also provided work permits until at least the fall of 2026.
Undoing the extension could add to Mr. Trump’s crackdown on not only illegal immigration but also on immigrants whom the Biden administration had authorized to remain in the country. In the past, Mr. Trump has targeted immigrants under Temporary Protected Status, which aids migrants from some of the most unstable countries in the world. Republicans have argued, however, that the measure has strayed far from its original mission of providing temporary shelter from conflict or disaster.
During his first administration, Mr. Trump aimed to stop the protections for migrants from several countries, including Haiti, El Salvador and Sudan. Federal courts stymied some of those efforts.
Ms. Noem’s decision finds fault with the move by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary under Mr. Biden, to extend the protections for Venezuelans in the final month of Mr. Biden’s term. The agency generally must decide at regular intervals whether the protections should be extended before they expire. The notice argued that Mr. Mayorkas made his move too early and said the extension should not remain in effect “given the exceedingly brief period” since it was issued on Jan. 17.
A Homeland Security Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, argued that the last-minute extension by the Biden administration appeared to be a way to tie the hands of Trump officials.
Venezuelans have poured into the United States in recent years as their country’s economy has collapsed and President Nicolás Maduro’s autocratic government has stifled dissent.
Those who initially received Temporary Protected Status in 2021 will maintain their protections through September, while those who obtained it in 2023 will have them until at least April. Ms. Noem now has until Saturday to make a decision on whether to issue her own extension on the group of Venezuelans who received their status in 2023.
If the administration does not make a decision by Saturday, the protections will extend for six months automatically, the notice said.
Immigrant advocates said the cancellation of the Biden administration’s extension would cause confusion and fear among Venezuelans across the United States.
“By taking this action, Secretary Noem is throwing over 600,000 into a state of ongoing bureaucratic limbo,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “People will no longer have any certainty as to whether they can stay in the country legally through the end of the year.”
He said the decision indicated that the Trump administration could also decide not to make its own extension for Venezuelans who received their status in 2023.
“If the Trump administration moves to terminate T.P.S. for over 600,000 Venezuelans, it could also have significant impacts on the economy, as nearly all of those with status are working here legally,” he added.
When the Biden administration moved to extend the protections this month, it cited “political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime.”
The statement said that “these conditions have contributed to high levels of crime and violence, impacting access to food, medicine, health care, water, electricity and fuel.”
