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| Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas |
Program would be similar to one that allowed thousands of Ukrainians to enter the U.S. on humanitarian parole
The Biden administration is considering creating a new immigration program for Venezuelans that would allow them to enter the country legally provided they have a U.S.-based financial sponsor, according to a government official familiar with the deliberations, a move designed to discourage Venezuelans from crossing into the U.S. illegally.
More than 150,000 Venezuelans have crossed the border illegally in the first 11 months of the government’s fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, compared with about 48,000 the entire year before, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
If enacted, the program would be modeled after Uniting for Ukraine, created in the wake of the war, that has allowed some 67,000 Ukrainians to move to the U.S. through a status known as humanitarian parole, which allows them to live and work here for two years. Any Ukrainians looking to come must find a U.S. sponsor willing to support their applications, and processing of their requests has been taking as little as a couple of weeks.
CNN earlier reported the deliberations over the program.
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, Venezuelan groups sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging him to move ahead with the initiative, which they are calling “Volunteering for Venezuela.”
“Facing severe political, economic, and social turmoil, nearly 7 million Venezuelans have fled their home country since 2015, making the Venezuelan exodus the second-largest displacement crisis in the world,” 40 Venezuelan-American and immigration advocacy wrote in the letter to Mr. Mayorkas. More Venezuelans have been displaced from their home country than any population other than Ukrainians, according to the United Nations refugee agency. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Eric Gay, File |
The Biden administration agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants at U.S. airports, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia’s invasion, while Mexico has agreed to take back Venezuelans who come to the U.S. illegally over land, the U.S. and Mexico said Wednesday.
Effective immediately, Venezuelans who walk or swim across the border will be immediately returned to Mexico under a pandemic rule known as Title 42 authority, which suspends rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Any Venezuelan who illegally enters Mexico or Panama after Wednesday will also be ineligible to come to the U.S. under the offer.
The U.S. offer of parole for up to 24,000 Venezuelans is modeled on a similar program for Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion and will hinge on Mexico “keeping in place its independent but parallel effort” to take back Venezuelans who come illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The moves are a response to a dramatic increase in migration from Venezuela, which leapfrogged over Guatemala and Honduras in August to become the second largest nationality arriving at the U.S. border after Mexico. --->READ MORE HEREFollow link below to a relevant story:
++++Joe Biden’s Allies: Fly Venezuelan Migrants Direct to U.S. Jobs++++++
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