Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States
February 6, 2025
By Ana Alanis Amaya and Jeanne Batalova
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Reflecting a deep economic and political crisis under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela remains one of the globe’s largest origins of migrants. Of the roughly 7.9 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide as of December 2024, a total of 85 percent—6.7 million—resided in Latin America and the Caribbean. The United States emerged as a significant destination only in the last decade or so. As of 2023, approximately 770,000 Venezuelan immigrants lived in the United States, accounting for slightly less than 2 percent of all 47.8 million immigrants in the country.
The economic and political instability that has driven Venezuelans abroad since 2015 was further accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As more Venezuelans left their country, the prospects of economic opportunity and a growing diaspora in the United States led an increasing number to try and reach the United States. Some emigrated from Venezuela directly, while many others arrived after prior residence in other Latin American countries. Many U.S.-bound Venezuelan migrants took dangerous routes to reach the country, including transiting the treacherous Darien Gap and Central America.
The number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encounters of Venezuelan migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border grew rapidly from 49,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2021 to 188,000 the following year and 266,000 in FY 2023. Encounters slowed over the course of FY 2024 and fell slightly to 261,000, following increased enforcement by authorities in Panama and Mexico, as well as new asylum restrictions imposed by the Biden administration. The administration developed a carrot-and-stick approach aimed at combining legal temporary pathways and statuses for Venezuelans (and migrants from other troubled countries) with restrictions on access to asylum for crossing the border irregularly.
The Biden administration designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2021, allowing significant numbers of Venezuelans already in the United States to receive work authorization and protection from deportation; it expanded eligibility in 2023. As of January 2025, approximately 607,000 Venezuelan nationals were estimated to be covered by TPS. Together with Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, Venezuelans with a U.S.-based sponsor could also participate in a special humanitarian parole program (known as CHNV) to legally enter the United States (paying for their own air travel to the United States). More than 117,000 Venezuelans obtained parole under this program between January 2023 and December 2024. At the same time, beginning in mid-2024, Venezuelans and other migrants crossing the border irregularly became generally ineligible for asylum.
The return of the Trump administration in January 2025 brought several profound changes to U.S. immigration policy, and specifically for Venezuelans. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ended the CHNV program for new arrivals, and subsequently allowed discretion for authorities to quickly deport some parolees already in the United States. The new administration also cancelled the Biden administration’s last-minute extension of Venezuelans’ TPS, meaning the protections are set to expire in two stages later in 2025.
Venezuelan immigrants in the United States are particularly concentrated in Florida, mostly arrived since 2010, and tend to have higher levels of education than immigrants overall. Venezuelans also are less likely to be U.S. citizens, are less likely to be proficient in English, and typically earn lower incomes than other immigrants.
This Spotlight provides information on the Venezuelan immigrant population in the United States, focusing on its size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics.
Definitions
The U.S. Census Bureau defines the “foreign born” as individuals without U.S. citizenship at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.
The terms “foreign born” and “immigrant” are used interchangeably and refer to those who were born in another country and later migrated to the United States.
Click on the bullet points below for more information:
Size of Immigrant Population over Time
Distribution by State and Key Cities
English Proficiency
Age, Education, and Employment
Income and Poverty
Immigration Pathways and Naturalization
Unauthorized Immigrant Population
Health Coverage
Diaspora
Top Global Destinations
Size of Immigrant Population over
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/venezuelan-immigrants-united-states
