NY Mayor Zohran Mamdani urges Trump to restore TPS for Venezuelan migrants

Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York visited the Venezuelan restaurant Lulla’s in Brooklyn, a hub for food and medicine donations after the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela that killed at least 3,535 people and injured 16,740. During the visit he called on President Donald Trump to reinstate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans in the United States and to use other humanitarian tools, arguing that ongoing disaster effects and political instability make a return unsafe.

Mamdani was joined by the city’s immigration commissioner Faiza N. Ali, who asked Washington to employ every available humanitarian mechanism, including Deferred Enforced Departure, and by international affairs director Ana María Archila, who noted that 20 donation sites have been set up across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Approximately 600,000 Venezuelans have been covered by TPS; 250,000 lost that protection in November 2025 and the remaining 350,000 face expiration in October 2026 unless the status is restored.