The Biden administration has a historic—and lifesaving—opportunity to both extend temporary protections for Venezuelan immigrants currently in the U.S., and expand this humanitarian relief to protect potentially hundreds of thousands more. But it must make this decision in just days, by July 11.
RELATED STORY: Biden admin to offer temporary protections to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans currently in U.S.
President Joe Biden fulfilled a key campaign promise in March 2021 by designating Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This means that Venezuelan immigrants who have already been here in the United States as of a certain date will not be deported back to danger, and can also work legally to support themselves and their families.
This relief expires after 18 months, a date that is coming up this fall. While the Biden administration has every legal ability to extend this relief, it must announce it by the July 11 date. But families and advocates are also urging the administration to expand eligibility to an estimated 250,000 additional Venezuelans who have fled the Maduro regime since the Biden administration’s announcement last year.
Virginia, who lives in South Florida, told CBS News Miami that Venezuela “worsens daily.” She left after losing a local election there. She said in the report that the Maduro and his allies “attack whoever opposes them. And this time was no different."
The call to both extend and redesignate TPS for Venezuela also has the support of Rep. Charlie Crist and state Sen. Annette Taddeo, both Democrats who held a roundtable Thursday with affected individuals and advocates. Crist is a candidate for Florida governor, while Taddeo seeks to unseat Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar. This year the Republican introduced the so-called “Dignity Act,” which purports to offer a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants but in reality offers a “dead end,” advocates said.
“The humanitarian crisis Venezuelans are facing under the oppressive regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro only continues to grow worse,” Taddeo said in a statement. “As the beacon of hope and freedom in the world, the United States must do everything in its power to support the Venezuelan people fleeing this oppressive regime and offer them a better chance at life.”
“With nearly half of the Venezuelan population in the U.S. residing in Florida, renewing and designating TPS for Venezuelans would be monumental for our community,” she continued.
Marco Rubio (as well as Rick Scott) applauded the Biden administration’s TPS decision last year, acknowledging that “Venezuelans who fled Maduro’s narco-terrorist regime cannot return home safely today,” Orlando Sentinel reported at the time. That situation hasn’t changed, it’s only gotten more dire. But while Rubio said he supports renewal, he said he doesn’t support expanding this humanitarian relief because of “our southern border,” Politico reported. But Republicans using the border as an excuse to not help immigrants already here is a tale as old as time.
“This should be a no-brainer for the Biden administration,” commented America’s Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry, noting: “[t]he TPS statute was written for situations like the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.”
“At a time of increased regional cooperation, other nations in the region are stepping up,” Sharry continued. “For example, Colombia will have admitted and given safe haven to some 1.5 million Venezuelans as of this August. President Biden urged our hemispheric partners to step up to manage and mitigate migration at the recent Summit of the Americas; it’s time for America to lead with actions.”
RELATED STORIES:
Black immigrants welcome Cameroonian TPS, continue urging relief for Ethiopia and Mauritania
Biden administration expands Ukrainian TPS eligibility to thousands more people
Senate Democrats reintroduce bill putting Temporary Protected Status holders on path to legalization