DENVER — Karelis, a Venezuelan immigrant who is now an accountant for a Denver nonprofit, told Denver7 she feels relieved after the Department of Homeland Security announced an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly a million immigrants in the U.S.
The move also includes immigrants from El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan. Most — about 600,000 — are from Venezuela. Their TPS was set to expire this April but is now extended until October 2026.
Karelis, speaking in Spanish, said the decision gave her peace of mind. She said she had previously received a 5-year work permit through an application for political asylum, but TPS offers extra protection.
Compared to asylum applicants, TPS applicants "do not have to establish that they will be directly harmed, or that they are at greater risk compared to other people in their home countries," according to the National Immigrant Justice Center.
"Happy because I can continue working legally,” she said.
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TPS doesn’t directly lead to permanent status in the U.S., but it does protect immigrants from being sent back to countries in the middle of a war, natural disasters, or other ‘extraordinary’ conditions.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that this applies to Venezuela “based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane [Nicolás] Maduro regime.”
"We are fleeing [Venezuela] since there we don't have enough money to eat, to dress, to pay rent,” said Karelis, who has been in the U.S. since July 2023. “Working here, you can."
But President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office is about a week away. He’s promised mass deportations and could scale back immigration policies like TPS.
A foreign state like Venezuela could be removed from those protections with a 60-day notice. Karelis said, for now, she isn’t worried about that possibility.
"At the moment, no,” she said. “I think hopefully [Trump] will respect this decision [the government] made."
But this move is not without criticism. Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) has been active in Aurora, leading to negative nationwide attention. Most recently, a violent kidnapping last month was connected to the group.
Karelis said the problems caused by some immigrants should not define the intentions of others.
"And the people who don't like migrants, give us the opportunity because not all of us come to do harm,” she said. “The majority of us come to work and to contribute."
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