DORAL, Fla. — South Florida’s Venezuelan community continued celebrating Sunday following reports of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, even as uncertainty remains over the future of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States.

Many Venezuelans across the country remain locked in legal battles to stay after the Trump administration last year halted the Biden administration’s Temporary Protected Status program, known as TPS.

The decision affected an estimated 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said TPS holders should seek refugee status instead.

“We need to make sure our programs actually mean something and we’re following the law,” Noem said.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said President Donald Trump must restore TPS protections for Venezuelans.

“There’s no possible way that Venezuelans here could feel safe enough to be able to be returned to a country that is clearly on shaky ground,” Wasserman Schultz said.

For many Venezuelans, TPS has provided a pathway to stability. Nicole, who immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela under the program, said it offered critical support to families trying to rebuild their lives.

“It was something that helped a lot of Venezuelans,” she said. “It weren’t criminals that had TPS. I had to work, I had to pay my taxes. I did everything I had to.”

Nicole said she hopes Venezuelans will be allowed to remain in the U.S., even if the program is revised.

“Maybe there has to be more control over who gets TPS or not, but most of the people were good people who deserve to be here and they want to make America better as well,” she said.

Isabella, another Venezuelan living in the U.S., arrived when she was 7 years old. She said she believes she will receive better educational opportunities in the United States but hopes to one day return to her home country.

“I’m away until things are a little bit better, where they reconstruct everything,” she said. “Once that’s over, I’m 100% going to come back.”

As celebrations continue among some Venezuelans in South Florida, many remain uncertain about what lies ahead — both for their families and their future in the United States.

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