Stay or go? Venezuelan immigrants react to Maduro's capture
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What led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and its implications?
On January 3rd, 2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him to New York to face drug charges. While his arrest has led to questions regarding who will control Venezuela's vast oil reserves, Venezuelan immigrants are now left wondering how long they will be allowed to remain in the U.S. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, January 12th, 2026.
How does Maduro's arrest affect Venezuelan immigrants' legal status in the U.S.?
Joining me now to discuss the fall of Maduro and how it's playing out in Venezuelan immigrant communities in America is USA Today national news reporter Lauren Villagran. So good to speak to you, Lauren.
Thanks for having me, Dana.
Lauren, you wrote that sobering realities are setting in. Why does the arrest of Maduro put the legal status of some Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. in limbo?
What changes occurred in U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration?
And how many immigrants are we talking about here?
Yeah, there's not a perfect number because there is some overlap in the numbers in terms of what people have applied for. But the fact of the matter is, is that more than 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants lost their temporary protected status after the Trump administration revoked it last year. And the administration has taken a number of other steps, Dana, to curtail the legal pathways that Venezuelans had in the United States. That includes the cancellation of a humanitarian parole program called the CHNV program. And they're also sort of squeezing asylum as well, looking to have cases dismissed or thrown out before a judge can rule on the merits.
Deporting immigrants to Venezuela became easier for the U.S.
When did the last deportation flights to Venezuela occur?
after President Donald Trump took office in 2025. What was the process like in previous years and what changed with the new Trump administration?
So, you know, Venezuela was one of the nations that the U.S. considered recalcitrant, meaning that they frequently would not receive a deportation flight. And that was a huge issue in the Biden administration, although there were at one point negotiations that did allow for some deportation flights. But those had stopped in January of 2025. the Trump administration was able to negotiate a new order in which Venezuela began accepting deportation flights regularly. At one point, it was every Wednesday and Friday. But Dana, the fact remains that the Trump administration has wanted to deport millions of immigrants in this country. And Venezuelans have in some cases been the poster face of that deportation effort.
But even with dozens of deportation flights that occurred last year, the Trump administration deported roughly 14,000 Venezuelans to Venezuela in 2025. Now that's just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States now living without legal protections.
When were the last deportation flights from the U.S. to Venezuela and where does that leave Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. ?
So the last known deportation flight from the United States to Venezuela occurred on December 10th. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells me, quote, flights have not paused. But one organization that closely tracks ICE deportation flights tells USA Today that there have been no additional deportation flights since that date.
President Trump has made no secret about U.S. interest in Venezuela's oil reserves. Is this operation also part of the president's immigration agenda? What has the administration said about deportations?
How are Venezuelan communities reacting to Maduro's ouster?
Yeah, so it's early days still and it's unclear whether the fact that deportation flights have not been landing regularly in the past week or so is an indication of what's to come. Certainly, Maduro's ouster is fresh still. We know that the administration has wanted to create conditions in which Venezuelans could return to their home country. But Venezuelans I've spoken with in the diaspora in the United States, as hopeful as some may be, do believe that conditions on the ground in these early days are still very complicated. You have a regime in place that is essentially the same one that was built up around Maduro. You have seen repression in the streets and the sort of celebrations and celebratory mood that you saw in Venezuelan communities in the United States has not materialized in Venezuela, given the repression.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and its implications?
0:05–0:38
2
How does Maduro's arrest affect Venezuelan immigrants' legal status in the U.S.?
0:38–1:03
3
What changes occurred in U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration?
1:03–1:54
4
When did the last deportation flights to Venezuela occur?
1:54–4:00
5
How are Venezuelan communities reacting to Maduro's ouster?
4:00–5:18
6
What challenges do Venezuelan immigrants face in the U.S. post-Maduro?
5:18–5:53
7
Is there a potential path forward for Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S.?
5:53–11:21
Speakers
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