Venezuelans under TPS can apply for refugee status, Kristi Noem says [View all]
Source: The Guardien
Edward Helmore
Sun 4 Jan 2026 21.51 GMT
Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, said on Sunday that the US wants a leader in Venezuela who will be “a partner that understands that we’re going to protect America” to stop drug trafficking and “terrorists from coming into our country”.
Noem indicated in an interview on Fox News Sunday that the immigration status of Venezuelan nationals living in the US under temporary protected status (TPS) was part of an administration-wide decision-making process that her department would follow.
“Venezuela today is more free than it was yesterday,” Noem said, adding that “every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status”. She added: “We need to make sure that our programs actually mean something, and that we’re following the law.”
Four months ago, Noem terminated the 2021 Biden-era designation of TPS for Venezuela, affecting over 250,000 Venezuelans living in the US, after determining it is “contrary to the US national interest”. Those covered joined around 350,000 Venezuelans stripped of temporary protected status under a previous order.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/kristi-noem-venezuela-leader-tps-refugee
Upon considered reflection, my response to Kristi is
= new reply since forum marked as read