The Walt Disney Co. has suspended 45 Venezuelan employees who’ve been living and working in the U.S. under the Biden administration’s now-terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.
Disney informed the Venezuelans on Tuesday, warning that they’d be fired after a 30-day unpaid leave (with benefits) unless they provided proof of a new valid work authorization.
Following a Supreme Court brief on Monday that clears the way for the Trump administration to remove temporary deportation protections from potentially hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, @Disney has informed 45 employees that they are on unpaid leave with benefits for 30 days
— Natasha Chen (@NatashaChenCNN) May 21, 2025
“As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” Disney later confirmed in an email to Bloomberg.
“We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families,” they added.
One of the Venezuelan employees told Bloomberg that he was turned away from Disney’s premises when he showed up to work on Tuesday.
This move by Disney came 24 hours after the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration may terminate TPS for now.
BREAKING — The Supreme Court agrees to pause a lower court ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from revoking the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of roughly 350,000 Venezuelan migrants. pic.twitter.com/aDFaD3QWXq
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) May 19, 2025
“The justices announced they would allow the Trump administration to end the protections pending appeal of the case, potentially allowing the administration to move ahead with deportations,” according to the New York Times.
“The justices also appeared to suggest that some of the Venezuelans who had been able to receive documentation of their legal status before the Trump administration terminated the program could sue to challenge their deportations,” the reporting continued.
Days after Trump assumed office in January, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a decision to end TPS for Venezuelans.
“The people of this country want these dirtbags out,” she told Fox News at the time. “They want their communities to be safe.”
Listen:
Kristi Noem revoked the extension of temporary protected status for Venezuelan illegals.
Noem: “The people of this country want these dirtbags out.”
Alejandro Mayorkas extended the TPS for more than 600,000 Venezuelans to Oct 2, 2026. pic.twitter.com/AoXxNpuL3L
— Eddie (@Eddies_X) January 29, 2025
Shortly thereafter, seven Venezuelan TPS holders and the National TPS Alliance sued the administration on the grounds that Noem’s order was illegal and racially discriminatory.
Then, in March, a San Francisco-based federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the order until the case fully played out in court. The administration then turned to the Supreme Court for help.
Democrats aren’t happy about any of this.
“Disney sets the standard — other companies in our economy look toward them,” Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, complained to Bloomberg. “We don’t have enough workers as it is, so this is a bad situation that’s getting worse. Plus, you can’t AI a Disney cast member who is delivering an unforgettable guest experience.”
Indeed, thanks to these recent rulings, a number of companies are likely to go the same route as Disney to reduce their legal risks, according to California-based immigration attorney Laura Bloniarz.
“It’s going to be incredibly disruptive,” she said.
Florida, in particular, is a hotbed of TPS activity, with over 360,000 TPS beneficiaries living there alone. But only 60 percent of them are Venezuelan. The fact is, TPS is a broad program that also covers migrants from other countries.
“Today, nationals from 17 countries are covered under the program,” according to Bloomberg. “Venezuela was added to the list in 2021, after a period of economic and political collapse under President Nicolas Maduro.”
Keep in mind, though, that the recent rulings only apply to TPS for Venezuelans.
All this comes months after outgoing President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security issued a last-minute order granting an extended stay to over one million migrants.
Biden takes action to shield nearly 1M migrants from deportation under Trump https://t.co/KJo50QxttJ via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 11, 2025
The department specifically extended TPS protection for 1,900 Sudanese migrants, 103,700 Ukrainian migrants, 232,000 Salvadoran migrants, and even 600,000 Venezuelan migrants.
Recall that Venezuela is home to the violent Tren de Aragua prison gang, though in recent years, the gang has been making pockets of America its new home.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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