The Venezuelan Alliance of Utah is calling on congressional leaders to grant immediate humanitarian relief to Venezuelan nationals following a pair of catastrophic earthquakes that destroyed critical infrastructure in northern Venezuela. The advocacy group is requesting either Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure to prevent the forced return of citizens to a nation currently under a national state of emergency.
Infrastructure Collapse in Venezuela
On June 24, back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck the northern region of Venezuela, causing widespread structural devastation. According to a petition released by the Venezuelan Alliance of Utah, the seismic events led to the collapse of residential buildings and left entire communities without electricity.
Aviation and Emergency Services
The group highlighted that the country's primary international gateway, Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, has suffered severe structural failure. This damage has forced a complete shutdown of the airport, rendering the nation's primary aviation infrastructure unusable. The Venezuelan Alliance of Utah stated that because emergency services are overwhelmed and the airport is physically destroyed, Venezuela is fundamentally unable to accept or safely integrate returning citizens.
Legal Pathways for Relief
The organization is specifically urging Utah's representatives to advocate for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a mechanism established under the Immigration Act of 1990. The group noted that the statute explicitly mandates TPS when a foreign state is temporarily unable to handle the return of its nationals due to an environmental disaster or earthquake.
If statutory hurdles prevent immediate TPS designation, the alliance is asking the administration to explore Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) as a rapid-scale alternative. The group pointed to historical precedent, noting that President Trump utilized the executive mechanism for Venezuelans in January 2021 via presidential memorandum after recognizing severe domestic turmoil prevented safe returns.
Advocacy and Leadership Targets
The Venezuelan Alliance of Utah, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Utah, aims to provide a voice for the state's growing Venezuelan community. As reported by KSL, the group's petition gained significant attention in late June.
The petition targets several key decision-makers in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including Utah Senators John Curtis and Mike Kennedy, as well as Representatives Blake Moore, Burgess Owens, and Mike Kennedy for the 3rd Congressional District.
Community Response
As of late June 2026, the petition had gathered 1,975 verified signatures. The Venezuelan Alliance of Utah maintains that deporting individuals to a nation with collapsed infrastructure would violate American compassion and create an active safety crisis for those involved.
The group continues to use its platform to communicate the needs of the community to federal officials, emphasizing that the current humanitarian emergency makes safe repatriation impossible.
