Written by Juli Gomez

Introduction

On February 5, 2025, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would be terminating Venezuela’s designation of temporary protected status (“TPS”).¹See Termination of October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 9040 (Feb. 5, 2025). Venezuela was last designated for TPS in 2023, under the Biden administration, and was set to expire on April 2, 2025.²See id. at 9040. Secretary Noem’s decision to revoke Venezuela’s TPS was a devastating blow to benefit holders, many of whom escaped the Maduro regime that has controlled Venezuela for decades and have sought refuge abroad.³See Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian & Alexandra Winkler, The Persistence of the Venezuelan Migrant & Refugee Crisis, Ctr. for Strategic & Int’l Stud. (Nov. 27, 2023), https://www.csis.org/analysis/persistence-venezuelan-migrant-and-refugee-crisis. Venezuelans are currently the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the U.S., with over 640,000 people residing within its borders.⁴See Mark Hugo Lopez et al. 11 Facts About Hispanic Origin Groups in the U.S., Pew Rsch. Ctr. (Aug. 16, 2023), https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/16/11-facts-about-hispanic-origin-groups-in-the-us/. The move marks a significant departure from the U.S.’s alignment with the international community, particularly the Organization of American States (“OAS”), in condemning the ongoing human rights violations occurring in Venezuela.⁵See generally Venezuela: Serious Human Rights Violations in Connection with the Elections, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 253/24, OEA/Ser.L./V/II (2025).

The OAS was founded to safeguard human rights and foster inclusivity throughout the Americas.⁶See Our History, OAS, https://www.oas.org/en/about/our_history.asp (last visited Sept. 25, 2025). Since OAS’s inception, it has promoted regional cooperation and equality through essential conventions like the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (“ADRDM”)⁷See generally Organization of American States, American Declaration of the Rights & Duties of Man, May 2, 1948, https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/mandate/Basics/american-declaration-rights-duties-of-man.pdf [hereinafter ADRDM]. and the Inter-American Democratic Charter (“IADC”).⁸See Organization of American States, Inter-American Democratic Charter, Sept. 11, 2001, https://www.oas.org/en/democratic-charter/pdf/demcharter_en.pdf [hereinafter IADC]. This blog will seek to address how the U.S.’s decision to revoke TPS for Venezuelans demonstrates a concerning disregard for its OAS commitments under the ADRDM, the IADC, and the organization’s collective position. Revoking TPS for Venezuelans is an alarming departure from humanitarian principles adopted by the U.S. and promoted through OAS frameworks, undermining the U.S.’s credibility as a democratic leader in the Americas.

Background

TPS is a designation that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the appropriate agencies, can assign to a foreign state if they find that conditions in that country meet certain requirements outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”).⁹See Immigration and Nationality Act, Pub. L. No. 82-414, § 244(b)(1), 66 Stat. 163, 167 (1952) (codified as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1)).  The INA outlines that a foreign state may be designated for TPS when it is suffering from ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary conditions that would seriously jeopardize the safety and well-being of its nationals upon return.¹⁰See id. This status permits eligible nationals of the designated state or individuals without nationality who last resided in that state to be granted TPS in the U.S.¹¹See id.

In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security decided it was not in the national interest to permit Venezuelans to temporarily remain in the U.S., despite the fact that certain country conditions that led to the 2023 TPS designation persist today.¹²See Termination of October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 9040, 9042. Furthermore, the agency highlighted that extending the status would counteract President Trump’s immigration policies and executive orders, ultimately harming the national interest.¹³See id. After TPS is terminated, beneficiaries in the U.S. return to the immigration status they previously held if they have not already lawfully adjusted their status.¹⁴See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1). Therefore, Venezuelans reliant on TPS who do not leave the U.S. could be subject to removal proceedings.¹⁵Id.

Forcing Venezuelans living in the U.S. to return to the dangerous conditions they fled poses a serious threat to their well-being and safety. The OAS created the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (“IACtHR”) to monitor member states’ conduct throughout the region.¹⁶See Claudio M. Grossman, American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948), in Max Planck Encyclopedia of Int’l L. ¶ 1 (Anne Peters & Rüdiger Wolfrum eds., 2010). They evaluate states’ compliance with the organization’s agreements, such as the ADRDM.¹⁷Id. ¶ 12. In 2023, the IACHR published a report titled “Migrants & Refugees from Venezuela” detailing how economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental rights have rapidly deteriorated under the Maduro regime.¹⁸See Migrants & Refugees from Venezuela [Personas refugiadas y migrantes provenientes de Venezuela], Com. Inter-Am. DD.HH., Informe N° 217/23, OEA/Ser.L./V/II., doc. 217 (2023). As the regime continued to usurp power in Venezuela, the IACHR encouraged all democracies in the region to adopt measures to account for Venezuelan asylum-seekers who had likely suffered human trafficking, gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation.¹⁹See Chapter IV.B: Venezuela, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 39/2, OEA/Ser.L./V/II, doc. 39 rev. 2 ¶ 43. (2024). Today, more than 7.9 million people have fled Venezuela, and over 6.7 million have found refuge in Latin American and Caribbean countries, while 262,633 crossed the U.S. border in 2023 alone.²⁰See Venezuela Situation, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/us/emergencies/venezuela-situation (last updated May 2024).

Analysis

The U.S.’s decision to terminate TPS for Venezuelans violates its OAS commitments and customary international law, establishing a dangerous precedent of hegemonic powers shirking humanitarian obligations. The IADC, a fundamental cornerstone of the Inter-American system, establishes that OAS member states have a responsibility to promote and protect human rights throughout the region.²¹See IADC, supra note 8. Furthermore, the U.S. is in direct violation of Article I of the ADRDM, which enshrines the right to life and personal security,²²See ADRDM, supra note 7. and Article VIII, which enshrines the right to residence and movement.²³See id. The interpretation of the ADRDM has evolved since it was created in 1948,²⁴See id. with the IACtHR ruling that it is a binding legal instrument, all members must abide by.²⁵See Interpretation of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man Within the Framework of Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights, Advisory Opinion OC-10/89, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) No. 10, ¶ 44 (July 14, 1989) [hereinafter IADRDM]. While the U.S. possesses the sovereign powers to control border security,²⁶See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1). it is still bound by the restrictions and obligations imposed by international law.

As a founding member of the OAS, the U.S. once stood at the forefront of promoting democracy and human rights throughout the hemisphere.²⁷See OAS, supra note 6. The Trump administration argues that the conditions in Venezuela, such as the economy, public health, and crime, have improved since the first TPS directive went into effect,²⁸See Termination of October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 9040, 9042. directly contradicting the OAS’s latest report.²⁹See Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 253/24, supra note 5. This development reflects the latest instance in a broader pattern of the U.S. adopting isolationist policies and disregarding the positions of intergovernmental organizations.³⁰E.g. Termination of October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. at 9042. Contra IADC, supra note 8. Ultimately, dismissing human rights concerns abroad opens the door to diminishing their importance at home, corroding the very principles of liberty and equality the U.S. claims to champion.

Conclusion

The Trump administration’s inconsistent stance on Venezuela creates a disjointed, ineffective foreign policy approach that undermines the severity of human rights violations in the region. Despite the U.N. categorizing Venezuela as an ongoing humanitarian emergency, the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies demonstrate a growing disregard for international norms or laws.³¹See UNHCR, supra note 20. They ultimately erode regional cooperation and politically distance the U.S. from the Inter-American human rights system.

As the rest of the region progresses toward enshrining democratic safeguards, the U.S. is actively falling behind. If the U.S. truly wishes to be the “leader of the free world,” recognizing the atrocities occurring in Venezuela and honoring its international responsibility to provide humanitarian relief would be a strong starting point.