The Trump administration detained a Florida man for three weeks and then deported him to Venezuela, even though he had court-ordered deportation protections under temporary protected status.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Darian Maldonado Medina, 28, during a routine check-in at an immigration office in Tampa on Sept. 5. When he entered the U.S. through the Mexican border in June 2021 authorities determined he did not prove a credible fear of returning to Venezuela and issued him an expedited removal order. He was released into the United States under ICE’s supervision and received TPS in 2023. He also had a pending family petition through his U.S. citizen mother, the beginning of the green-card process.

The same day Maldonado Medina was detained, federal judge Edward Chen upheld President Joe Biden’s administration’s extension of TPS for over half-a-million Venezuelans, including Maldonado Medina, after the Supreme Court in May let the Trump administration end the protections while litigation was ongoing.

Maldonado Medina re-registered for TPS as recently as May, meeting the required deadlines. Even with a pending renewal, lawyers emphasized that beneficiaries are protected from deportation in the interim. Still, ICE did not release him following the judge’s ruling and instead deported him to Venezuela just weeks later.

“They said TPS didn’t cover anything, that it didn’t work, and that I should just sign,” Maldonado Medina said from Valencia, Venezuela, during a phone interview with the Miami Herald.

The Department of Homeland Security told the Herald in a statement that “his TPS had ended in April 2025.” DHS did not respond to follow-up questions about why it proceeded with Maldonado Medina’s removal after Chen’s order was issued.

“TPS was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades. Secretary [Kristi] Noem is returning TPS to its original intent—TEMPORARY,” said a Homeland Security spokesperson.

But lawyers told the Herald that the deportation of Maldonado Medina was illegal and that the federal law that created temporary protected status explicitly protects immigrants from being removed while the designation is in effect. They say his case highlights troubling inconsistencies in how the DHS is enforcing TPS protections.

“TPS holders should be, by law, protected from deportation. TPS protects individuals from detention and deportation during the period that the status is valid,” said Emi MacLean, one of the attorneys representing Venezuelans in the lawsuit against the Trump administration decision to terminate TPS. She described the deportation as “egregious” and accused Homeland Security of violating the federal judge’s orders.

“TPS provides protections against detention and deportation. Yet many Venezuelan TPS holders continue to be detained illegally,” MacLean said.

Hundreds of Venezuelan TPS holders remain in detention, particularly in Texas, where more than 50 people are still being held. Oklahoma is another state where individuals have yet to be released, the Herald reported last week after speaking with family members of 30 detainees in ICE facilities across the country.

Recently, dozens of TPS holders have been released after months in custody in states like Florida, Georgia, California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The releases followed efforts by attorneys from the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, along with the Venezuelan American Caucus, an advocacy group, which submitted documentation in support of at least 400 cases nationwide. The legal experts are part of the team representing Venezuelan TPS holders in the ongoing lawsuit against the federal government.

‘Extremely disappointed’

Before ICE picked him up, Maldonado Medina had been living for the past four years in Spring Hill in Hernando County. He worked as a roofer and was the primary breadwinner for his partner and son. He told the Herald that during his detention, ICE agents repeatedly pressured him to sign a voluntary deportation order even after he said he had TPS.

Maldonado Medina was scheduled to be deported on Sept. 24, but a series of earthquakes in Venezuela forced the flight to divert to Aruba for several hours before returning to Miami. He was held for 48 hours at Alligator Alcatraz, the state detention site in the Eveglades, which he described as “a birdcage” with no shower, with open toilets and bunk beds.

“They never told me they were going to deport me. I realized I was going to be deported when we were flying,” Maldonado Medinda said. “They just kept stalling me.”

Nearly a week after his deportation, the ICE online locator continues to show him as being held in El Paso. “I’m glad they released me because being in detention was awful. But I’m extremely disappointed in what they did to me,” he told the Herald.

Some lawyers said that the federal government could argue Maldonado Medina’s deportation was legal because Judge Chen’s order did not grant the pending petitions under TPS, and that because he had a pending TPS petition and a removal order, they could deport him since his TPS was not active. However, the law confers deportation protection on TPS beneficiaries with pending renewals, and other lawyers said that having an expedited removal order was not grounds to deport him because he was a TPS beneficiary.

“There are already tons of people who have removal orders with TPS. You can’t be deported. You can’t be removed,“ said Randy McGrorty, director of Miami-Based Catholic Legal Services. “TPS protects you notwithstanding the removal order.”

On Sept. 15, ten days after Maldonado Medina’s arrest, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website to reflect the federal court’s decision, confirming TPS was extended through Oct. 2, 2026. The notice also affirmed that Employment Authorization Documents were automatically extended through April 3, 2026, pending further litigation.

To receive and maintain TPS, beneficiaries must pass background checks. Public records indicate that Maldonado Medina was listed as having a hold by ICE in Pinellas County, titled as a felony on the same day he was arrested by ICE, but no charges were filed.

When the Herald contacted the Pinellas County Court Clerk’s Office, officials said they found no charges against him and referred the inquiry to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. That office also found no public records for Maldonado Medina.

A conviction for one felony or two misdemeanors, regardless of the type of offense, automatically disqualifies an individual from being eligible for TPS.

Records show Maldonado Medina did have traffic citations in Pinellas County in 2022 and 2023 for driving without a valid driving license and speeding. A search of Hillsborough County Clerk records, where Tampa is located and where ICE arrested him, shows no felony charges. The only record under his name in Hillsborough is from 2024, a traffic citation for failing to stop at a red light.

No future in the U.S. for now

After being deported, Maldonado Medina is now subject to a five-year bar from the United States. If he were to try to re-enter through the Mexican border sought asylum, he would need to claim persecution in Venezuela and establish a well-founded fear of returning.

The roofer planned to build a life in the United States, to raise his family and work toward stability.

“I wanted to live there forever, but I feel disappointed about what happened to me,” he said. “If I ever have the chance to return legally, without problems, I would absolutely.”

His deportation left his family shattered — a 15-month-old U.S. citizen son and a partner who remain in Florida and are now struggling to get by. He was the family’s sole breadwinner, and now they’re left trying to figure out if, and when, they might be together again.

“I am holding onto the hope that he will come back,” said Valentina Veloz, Maldonado Medina’s partner, who was waiting for him during his check-in at the ICE office in Tampa. The day he was arrested was also their anniversary. The couple has been together for more than eight years and share a son, Ivar Alejandro.

Veloz said they were building a future in the U.S., planning to buy a home next year and create a stable life for their family.

“Our plan was to build a life here, have a baby, find stable jobs, and live peacefully.”

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