The Walt Disney Company has notified dozens of Venezuelan employees they might lose their jobs after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration could end their deportation protections and work permits under temporary protected status.

The corporation, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, placed approximately 45 “cast members” — as Disney refers to its employees — on unpaid leave, according to emails provided to the Miami Herald. The correspondence also informed the workers. that they would be dismissed after 30 days if they do not get alternative work authorization.

“I am very distressed,” one woman in her late 40s who works at Disney World in Orlando told the Herald. “We have bills, we just renewed our apartment lease, my son goes to college.”

She asked to remain anonymous out of fear that speaking publicly could jeopardize her chances of returning to her job or lead to retaliation.

In a statement, a Disney spokesperson told the Herald it “had placed the affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law.”

“We are committed to protecting the health, safety and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families,” said the spokesperson.

It is unclear how many affected Venezuelan employees were located in Florida, but the Herald talked to some in Orlando, where Disney’s flagship park is located.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet published an official termination of Venezuela’s TPS under the 2023 designation, which covers about 350,000 people. The administration has not rescinded a separate designation from 2021, which covers some 257,000 people and expires in September.

DHS has already acknowledged on its websites the Supreme Court decision revoking a lower court judge’s order to keep the TPS protections for Venezuelans in place. The lower court judge’s order is part of an ongoing lawsuit in San Francisco stemming from DHS’ decision to end TPS for Venezuelans under the 2023 designation.

The Disney employees received calls and emails a day after the Supreme Court order. It explained that as of Tuesday, “due to the unique situation,” they were on a 30-day unpaid leave of absence, said the email sent to Venezuelan employees.

”If you have not provided new valid work authorization at the end of the leave, your employment will be terminated,” reads the email sent a day before Homeland Security updated its decision, which hasn’t provided any public guidelines to employers of TPS recipients.

It is unlikely that the 45 Venezuelans affected will be able to obtain another legal way to work in that time, even if they have another pending immigration process.

While many Venezuelans with TPS have applied for political asylum, which can provide up to five years of work authorization, not all have pursued that option, leaving many without a clear path to remain employed legally.

Two of the affected employees were family members who said it will now be a struggle to keep their home and meet basic living expenses. A woman in her 40s who worked at a Disney Resort and a man in his 20s employed at one of the Disney Parks are among those recently terminated.

The woman said she and her oldest son hold work permits under the 2023 TPS designation. Unlike many others, however, they also remain legally in the U.S. under a separate visa linked to her husband’s employment. However, that visa does not provide them with work authorization.

“A family of five can’t live on just one person’s salary,” she said.

_____

©2025 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.