Pew Research: 7 Things You Should Know About Venezuelans in the U.S.

Venezuelans are one of the fastest‑growing and most highly educated Latino communities in the United States, and their story shows how foreign policy, migration, and civil rights collide in real time.​

Who Venezuelan Americans are

• About 1.2 million people of Venezuelan origin lived in the U.S. in 2024, more than doubling (up 119%) since 2019, making them the fastest‑growing Hispanic group.​

• They are still a relatively small share of all U.S. Hispanics (about 1.7%) and rank as the ninth‑largest Hispanic origin group, far behind Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in size.​

Newer immigrants driven by crisis

• Eight in ten Venezuelans in the U.S. were born abroad, the highest foreign‑born share of any Latino group, and about half of Venezuelan immigrants have arrived within the past five years.​

• Their rapid migration is tied to Venezuela’s deep political and economic crises, now intensified by a U.S. military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in New York.​

Legal status and policy whiplash

• Since Donald Trump took office in 2025, more than half of Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. are now estimated to be undocumented.​

• Many lost protection when the administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and canceled the CHNV parole program, stripping legal status from people who had been allowed to live and work here.​

Where they live and what they bring

• Over 40% of U.S. Venezuelans live in Florida (especially Miami and Orlando), with sizable communities in Texas, Georgia, New York, Illinois, Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta; 95% live in metro areas.​

• Roughly half have a bachelor’s degree or higher—far above both the national average and the rate for other Hispanics—yet many now face heightened precarity despite deep skills, education, and roots in U.S. communities.​