The Biden administration says it is granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans already in the country — making them quickly eligible to work — as it grapples with a growing number of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to come to the US. Mexican border.
The move — along with promises to speed up work permits for many migrants — could reassure Democratic leaders who have been pressing the White House to do more to help asylum seekers, while also providing grist to the mill for Republicans who say President Joe Biden has been too lax on immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to grant temporary protected status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, making it easier for them to get permission to work in the US. That has been a key demand from Democratic mayors and governors as they struggle to care for a growing number of migrants under their care.
That is in addition to the approximately 242,700 Venezuelans who were already eligible for temporary status before Wednesday’s announcement.
The protection for Venezuelans is significant because they are responsible for such a large number of migrants arriving in the country in recent years.
Venezuela has been plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the past decade, forcing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain. The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring Latin America, but many came to the United States in the past three years through the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle in Panama.
Venezuelans who arrive in the US after July 31 this year will not be eligible for the protection. Those who qualify now must apply to get it.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allowed the expansion and an 18-month extension for those already in temporary status due to “Venezuela’s increased instability and lack of security due to ongoing humanitarian, security, political and environmental conditions” , the ministry said. a statement.
The administration said it would speed up work permits for people who have arrived in the country since January through a mobile app for appointments at border crossings with Mexico, called CBP One, or through parolees granted to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans receiving financial assistance to have. sponsors and arrive at an airport. The aim is to issue them work permits within 30 days, compared to around 90 days currently.
The promise of accelerated work permits does not apply to people who cross the border irregularly and seek asylum. By law, they must wait six months before receiving a work permit.
Mayors and governors have called on Mr. Biden to figure out a way to allow newly arrived migrants to work legally so they can earn a living.
Democratic officials in New York, Massachusetts, Chicago and elsewhere have complained about the strain newly arrived migrants are putting on their resources, especially in New York, where the government is required to provide housing to anyone who needs it. The city currently pays for housing for approximately 60,000 newly arrived migrants.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement late Wednesday that she was “grateful that the federal government acted so quickly to grant one of our top priorities: Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants already in this country have arrived.”
The city’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been especially critical of the Biden administration. But Mr Adams on Wednesday praised the decision to grant protection to Venezuelans and thanked the government for listening to the city’s concerns.
The number of migrants attempting to cross the southern border is increasing. That poses a serious challenge for the administration, which has struggled to show it has control of the border despite Republican criticism. The city of Eagle Pass, which borders Mexico along the Rio Grande in southern Texas, declared a state of emergency Wednesday due to a “serious surge of undocumented immigrants.”
About 2,700 migrants crossed Eagle Pass on Tuesday and about 3,000 on Wednesday, according to Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber.
The administration also said Wednesday it was also using Defense Department troops to support homeland security personnel at the border. Homeland Security already uses about 2,500 National Guard troops to assist Customs and Border Protection. In the press release, Homeland Security said up to 800 new active-duty troops would also be sent to the border; they would be used for things like logistics to free up customs officials for more frontline responsibilities.
Homeland Security said it is also taking other steps to address immigration, such as scaling up a process it started in May to quickly remove families who have no basis to stay in the country. The agency said it has also increased storage capacity along the southern border.
And it is said that the number of people deported has increased. Since May 12, the agency said it has transferred 253,000 people to just over 150 countries around the world. That compares with the 180,000 people removed during the same period in 2019 — before the pandemic dramatically changed the government’s ability to expel migrants.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Elliot Spagat reported from San Diego. Valerie Gonzalez of McAllen, Texas contributed to this report.