The two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 are driving calls for President Trump to restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the approximately 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States who until recently had this designation.

Many point out that, as the South American country struggles to recover, the role of the Venezuelan diaspora in sending necessary resources is fundamental.

“Our country needs those of us who are outside,” said Paola, a resident of the Bay Area since arriving in the United States in 2023. She was one of the people who lost her legal status and work permit after Trump revoked TPS for Venezuelans last October.

“The help we can send to our families and, in general, to all our brothers and sisters who are going through this tragedy…” he added, “if you have a way of working, you also have a way of helping.”

Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have left the country as economic conditions deteriorated. Although exact figures are not available, it is estimated that remittances represented up to 7.5% of Venezuela's GDP in 2025.

The first earthquake, of magnitude 7.2, occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24, around 6:00 p.m. Its epicenter was located in the La Guaira region, about 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of the capital, Caracas, and along the country's Caribbean coast. The second tremor, magnitude 7.5, shook the same area 30 seconds later.

The unusual double earthquake has left more than 4,118 dead and 16,740 injured, according to Friday night's report, and it is estimated that up to thousands could be missing or unaccounted for. Nearly 200 buildings were reduced to rubble, while preliminary NASA satellite assessments warn that 58,870 structures were damaged or destroyed.

The economic cost of the disaster, the worst to hit the troubled country in more than a century, is projected to exceed $6.7 billion.

So far, the Trump administration has shown no signs of restoring Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, despite the magnitude of the destruction. TPS is usually granted to people fleeing countries affected by war, violence and/or natural disasters.

Hours before the earthquakes occurred, a plane with 147 Venezuelans deported from the United States landed in the country; These people were housed in a complex near the epicenter. Of the total, so far only 12 have been confirmed to have survived.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have begun to sound the alarm.

On June 29, Massachusetts Democratic Representative Seth Moulton introduced the TPS Relief Act, which would restore judicial oversight over cancellations of this status. The move would overturn a June 25 Supreme Court ruling that gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final authority over such decisions.

The DHS has proceeded to eliminate TPS designations for 13 of the 17 countries that had this benefit. Critics argue that such cancellations do not take into account actual conditions on the ground in the affected nations.

Moulton has been joined by Miami Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, who has urged the president to extend TPS protections for Venezuelans for 18 months after the earthquakes and to stop ongoing deportations.

"We cannot deport hundreds of thousands of people from the country overnight," Salazar wrote on social media platform X on July 6. "Simply put, it is not safe to return them to their countries today. It is not an option."

Criticism of the Venezuelan government's own response to the catastrophe is also growing, both from within the country and from Venezuelans abroad.

“My parents were rescued, not by the authorities, but by an engineer named Ángel and his mother, Milagros, a doctor who turned her house into a shelter and treated the injured with her own medications,” said Víctor, originally from Venezuela and currently residing in Los Angeles.

He says that a childhood friend remained trapped under the rubble with his youngest son for days after the disaster.

Víctor's parents lived in the Hugo Chávez Frías housing complex, a group of four-story buildings in La Guaira that was practically destroyed by the earthquakes. At first, he thought they had died, after videos began circulating on social media showing the complex in ruins.

“My mother was saved because she was on the street at the time of the earthquake,” recalls Víctor, “and my father, who was on the ground floor of the building, survived by clinging tightly to a water pipe anchored to the ground while the structure cracked.”

Recovery efforts are being hampered by severe shortages of equipment, food and other essential items and, in some cases, interference from authorities. Lack of medicines has also been reported.

Victor's father suffers from diabetes, while his mother suffers from early-stage dementia. Recently, he started a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of raising funds to help his family.

For their part, Venezuelans in the Bay Area have united to send aid to their compatriots. Collection centers were set up in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Oakland and San José.

On Sunday, July 5, nearly 1,000 50-pound (about 22.7 kg) boxes left Oakland for Florida before continuing on to Venezuela. The shipment is carried out by the non-profit organization Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), based in Florida, which will distribute the aid directly to the victims through local networks.

“We know that many are concerned about the government appropriating donations,” said Alicia Molina, who helped organize the aid drives. “That's why we partnered with GEM; they are independent and give us the certainty that everything will reach those who need it.”

Editor's note: The surnames of some of the sources cited in this report have been omitted at the express request of those interviewed. Although some of them have US citizenship, they plan to return to Venezuela to support their families and fear becoming targets of retaliation by the current government.

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