The Biden administration flew more than 100 Venezuelans back to their authoritarian socialist homeland on Wednesday, as deportation flights to the troubled nation resumed for the first time in years.
The Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this month that it would resume direct repatriations to Venezuela in an effort to deter illegal border crossings following the decision by Venezuelan authorities to accept the return of Venezuelan citizens.
“This flight to Venezuela is the first I have seen in my career of a full charter flight of Venezuelans returning to their country,” Corey Price, acting associate executive director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the Associated Press.
“And we plan to have several more of these in the coming days and weeks,” he added.
About 130 Venezuelans were traveling on Wednesday’s flight. AFP via Getty Images The migrants were carrying handcuffs and ankle restraints aboard the flight chartered by the United States government. AFP via Getty Images
The approximately 130 migrants on Wednesday’s first flight traveled aboard ICE Air, a Boeing 737 plane chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that took off from the Texas border city of Harlingen and stopped in Miami before continuing to the capital of Venezuela, Caracas.
All of the passengers on the first flight had entered the U.S. illegally between ports of entry, according to the U.S. Border Patrol, were handcuffed and ankle-cuffed, and were searched when they boarded the plane.
ICE is prioritizing new arrivals and migrants who have committed crimes during their stay in the U.S. for initial deportation flights.
Approximately 200,000 Venezuelans crossed the southwest border illegally in the last 11 months according to Customs and Border Protection data. AFP via Getty Images
Nearly half a million Venezuelans have crossed the southwest border illegally since President 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.
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.
Last month, Biden, 80, extended temporary protected status to about 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 due to their place of origin. the dysfunction of the country.
“Venezuelans who have not applied for TPS and have deportation orders could be affected,” Rachel León, an immigration attorney in Florida, told the AP. “Those who are eligible for TPS should apply as soon as possible to avoid facing deportation.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn