A Venezuelan citizen, beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), filed an administrative claim against the United States Government after having been detained for eight days by immigration authorities, despite having valid documentation proving his legal stay in the country.

The legal action was brought by the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, through a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

The procedure writes a historical page and constitutes the first step to request compensation for alleged violations of your rights by agents of the Border Patrol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).

According to the organization, the incident occurred in September 2025 when the Venezuelan was passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas. At that time, a federal court order kept TPS in force for Venezuelan citizens, after federal courts blocked attempts by the US Government to end this immigration protection.

Official documents from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that certain Venezuelan beneficiaries maintained their status and work authorization by court order.

According to the claim, the immigrant showed the agents his work permit and the official notification that extended his TPS. However, he was arrested and taken first to a Border Patrol facility and later to an ICE processing center in New Mexico.

“What they did to me and others cannot be undone,” said the victim, who requested to remain anonymous.

“This complaint is the only way I can seek some degree of accountability and hopefully add additional protection to a system that too often misses the person behind the case,” he continued.

Lawyer Sofía López Franco, from the Miñana Center, maintained that the arrest should never have occurred. “The Government ignored a federal court order that restored TPS for Venezuela and the legal mandate that prohibits the detention of people with this current status,” he declared.

The legislation that regulates TPS expressly establishes that beneficiaries are protected from detention and deportation as long as their status remains valid. Additionally, they can receive employment authorization during the periods established by the program.

The case arises in the midst of a prolonged court battle over TPS for Venezuelans. During 2025 and 2026, various federal courts issued contradictory rulings regarding the US Government's attempts to cancel these protections, creating uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.

In this case, if federal agencies do not respond or reach an agreement within the next six months, the plaintiff may file a formal complaint in federal court to seek damages.