Some Venezuelans in Minnesota face uncertainty amid end of ‘Temporary Protected Status’

After Harold Torrence heard the news, he couldn’t sleep.

Torrence is a U.S. citizen, but the potential loss of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for his close relatives means more uncertainty, and a forced return to a country in crisis. 

“It is not surprising, but it certainly is something that I didn’t expect that there was going to be an action that we’re going to take right away,” he said.

The Trump Administration recently ended TPS for more than 300,000 Venezuelans in the United States. 

Torrence says he has family members who have lived in Minnesota for more than five years after fleeing Venezuela because of severe food and medicine shortages, political unrest and problems that put their lives at risk. 

Venezuelans under TPS who received the protections in 2023 will lose their temporary status in April.

Others, like Torrence’s relatives, received protections in 2021 and still have until September. They requested asylum and have a pending case, but it could take years before they get a final answer and it’s unclear if they’ll be able to stay until then.

He worries how they’ll return after building a stable life in Minnesota. Torrence’s relatives are taxpayers and he says they have integrated into society

“One is in education. The other one is working in the service industry. And they are really trying their best to make their ends meet without relying on any other sources,” Torrence said. 

He said staying here or going back to Venezuela could mean the difference between life or death. 

“There is a lot of fear. We had elections last year, and there is no clarity who the legitimate president is, many experts are saying that we are under a dictatorship.”

Julia Decker, policy director of the Immigrant Law Center, said there are people under TPS who may have the potential option to stay in the U.S. depending on their circumstances. Some may have married U.S. citizens or requested asylum. 

“There will, of course, be people who do not have any other status. They will become undocumented at the time that TPS goes away,” Decker said.

Last year, the Biden administration decided not to renew the legal status of those under humanitarian parole, which allowed migrants including those from Venezuela to apply for entry from their countries due to urgent humanitarian reasons.

‘I’m still in limbo’

Soleil Ramirez also had to leave her home in Venezuela. 

“They almost killed me. In Venezuela, I was kidnapped. It’s a very long story, super painful,” Ramirez said. 

Ramirez is the chef and owner of Crasqui, a fine dining Venezuelan restaurant in St. Paul that opened in 2023. 

She doesn’t have TPS and arrived in the U.S. through a tourist visa. Ramirez has lived in Minnesota for nine years and has had a pending asylum case for most of that time, she doesn’t know yet if a permanent life in Minnesota is possible. 

“So I’m still in limbo. I’m not a permanent resident, I’m not a citizen, I’m nothing. I just have a work permit. I have a lot of people who depend on me,” Ramirez said. 

Despite the uncertainty, she said she’s still passionate about growing her business. 

“I’m really trying to show what my country is and what Venezuelans are in another perspective.” Ramirez is anxiously waiting to learn if she’ll be able to apply for a green card. 

In the meantime, Torrence has been talking to his relatives in Minnesota every day as they make plans for a potential return to Venezuela. 

“I have hope that consciousness can come all the way up to our decision makers, and that this decision that we’re making now wouldn't stay so I’m still trying to be positive,” he said.