WASHINGTON – The Biden administration said Thursday it will begin sending Venezuelan migrants who illegally cross the U.S. border back to their troubled homeland, even though earlier threats failed to stem a surge in illegal crossings as warnings were not fulfilled.
“Consistent with our commitment to enforce our immigration laws and continue to strengthen consequences for those who cross our border illegally, the United States announces today that it will resume direct repatriations of Venezuelan nationals who cross our border illegally and do not establish a legal basis to remain. ”the Department of Homeland Security said in a press release.
The threatened deportations would be costly if they were actually carried out. Approximately 200,000 Venezuelans crossed the southwest border illegally in the last 11 months of Customs and Border Protection data, representing about 9% of all such transits.
The DHS announcement did not specify whether U.S. government planes would be used, but outbound commercial flights, which are sometimes used for such repatriations, are extremely expensive due to low demand caused by economic and security concerns in Venezuela. The cost of flights from border states to Caracas can reach up to thousands of dollars.
Large-scale deportations to Venezuela would likely spark a humanitarian outcry, as the country’s authoritarian socialist government has presided over an intense internal crackdown on dissidents while years-long hyperinflation and one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere have forced citizens to flee.
The Biden administration said Thursday it will begin sending Venezuelan migrants who illegally cross the U.S. border back to their troubled homeland.Getty Images
Homeland Security said the announcement “follows the decision by Venezuelan authorities to accept the return of Venezuelan citizens.”
The department also gave credence to the “high-level discussions held yesterday in Mexico City between the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Panama, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and the Advisor of Homeland Security Liz Sherwood-Randall discussed ongoing negotiations. coordinated efforts to address irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere.”
The threat was announced a day after the Biden administration waived 26 federal laws to speed up construction of about 20 miles of a new border wall in South Texas after former President Donald Trump’s signature project was halted in the first day in office for President Biden.
An ABC News poll last month found that Biden has just 23% public approval for his handling of immigration and the border, making him a big problem heading into next year’s election. Among his main critics are Democrats such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“There is currently an acute and immediate need to build physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the United States border to prevent illegal entries,” Mayorkas said on Wednesday, although Biden contradicted him on Thursday and said the walls were ineffective and that had to restart the project because Congress had approved funds for it in 2019.
Nearly half a million Venezuelans have crossed the southwest border illegally since Biden took office; The increase peaked at more than 34,000 arrests in April and more than 31,000 detentions recorded in August, the most recent month for which data is available.
Homeland Security said the announcement “follows the decision by Venezuelan authorities to accept the return of Venezuelan citizens.” Getty Images
Biden has previously threatened to deport Venezuelans who did not enter the United States legally, before his administration allowed many to remain in the country to file their asylum claims.
Last month, Biden expanded temporary protected status to approximately 472,000 Venezuelan immigrants who arrived in the United States before July 31 of this year, giving the cohort protection from deportation and the right to live and work legally in the United States. United due to the dysfunction of their home country.
The pardon came despite previous threats by the Biden administration to turn away any Venezuelans who did not enter the country through legal processes.
Last month, Biden extended temporary protected status to approximately 472,000 Venezuelan immigrants who arrived in the United States before July 31 of this year.REUTERS
In October 2022, the Biden administration launched a special “parole” program that allowed Venezuelans to enter the United States through legal ports of entry, such as airports, pending review of their asylum claims, with a limit of 24,000 beneficiaries. Those who did not go through that process were warned that they would be deported and, in fact, some were turned away at the border.
The parole program was expanded in January to include citizens of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, and up to a total of 30,000 immigrants per month from those four nationalities could enter the United States awaiting asylum rulings if they passed background checks and They had an American sponsor.
At the time, Biden claimed that residents of any of the four countries would be quickly returned to Mexico if they crossed illegally, only for that threat to not be carried out, and the new arrivals formed a large contingent of those released at the border, which eventually They traveled. to cities like New York, which has had difficulties hosting them.
“Starting today, if you do not apply through the legal process, you will not be eligible for this new parole program,” Biden said in January, adding: “If you attempt to cross into the United States illegally, you will not be allowed to enter.” ”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn