Jhovanny, a 44-year-old Venezuelan asylum-seeker in Chicago, looked on in shock and hope as news reverberated around the world of the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro. Even though Maduro now sits in a jail in New York City, Jhovanny still lies awake at night, fearing that he'll be forced to return to a country in turmoil.
Multiple Venezuelan migrants and asylum-seekers told NBC News that as long as the current regime is in power, even with Maduro gone, the country is far too dangerous and unstable for them to return.
"It's something extreme and dangerous for those of us abroad, because we are targets of the paramilitaries, we are targets of the regime," said Jhovanny, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear for his immigration case in the U.S. and of fear for his safety in Venezuela.
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have come to the U.S. in recent years, fleeing political repression and economic crisis, seeking asylum or other legal protection, including Temporary Protected Status. In addition to having an open asylum case, Jhovanny was a TPS beneficiary. He said he is fleeing political persecution.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump moved to revoke TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and from multiple other countries as part of his agenda to restrict immigration. Following legal challenges,Trump's move to revoke protections for Venezuelans in the U.S. has been allowed to move forwardwhile the case continues to make its way through the courts.
On Tuesday,the administration ended the protection for Somalis, requiring those with TPS to leave by March 17. After the shooting of two National Guard members in late November, the federal government also haltedimmigration applicationssubmitted bynationals from 19 countriesthat already faced restrictions on travel to the U.S., including Venezuela.
Immigration arrests and deportations have also ramped up across the country. The current political landscape has left Venezuelans seeking immigration status in the U.S. fearful, even as many welcomed the ouster of Maduro.
John Rivas, 24, and his wife, Elimar Rodriguez, 22, left their parents and siblings behind in Venezuela, bringing only a change of clothes for themselves and their sons, who are 7 months old and 6 years old, respectively. The two had gathered at a restaurant in Los Angeles with other Venezuelans in the days after Maduro's ouster, celebratory but still uncertain about what came next.
The couple ended up in Los Angeles in 2024 and came in the hopes of being granted TPS after President Joe Biden added Venezuela to its list of eligible countries in 2021. Their applications are pending as the lawsuit challenging Trump's decision to revoke the legal protection makes its way through the court system, and both said they have regularly reported to scheduled check-ins with immigration authorities.
Rivas is now working as a ride service driver and Rodriguez quit her housecleaning job to stay home with the children. But the American dream they came here to chase is increasingly feeling out of reach as the Trump administration clamps down on immigration.
Rivas said he fears returning to his old life more than anything else. One friend who was deported last year left California "fat and happy" and is now underweight and malnourished, Rivas said.
"I want to be here more than my home country," he said flatly. "I don't see how it's possible to go back there right now."
Rodriguez said she was also forced to leave behind her parents and sisters in Venezuela because life had become too difficult. She and Rivas estimate they each made about $20 a month when they lived outside Caracas. Two pounds of meat, Rodriquez said, cost about $13.
Even accepting remittances from the U.S. has proven expensive and onerous.
"If I sent $500 to my mother, she would only get $100 a month because there is no money in the banks," Rivas said.
Renny Milano, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker who came to the U.S. several years ago, has built a life in Chicago helping other migrants through the nonprofit Manos Entrelazadas South Side Alliance. He said much of the city opened its arms to him and others when tens of thousands were bused to Chicago from Texas.
His immigration case is ongoing. Milano said he felt that with Maduro gone "a more acute crisis is coming now, simply because the powers that be are fighting among themselves right now."
Milano said real fears remain even for Venezuelans who left with the hope of one day returning to a more safe and stable country.
"All that conflict, the people pay the price," he said.
