WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is considering a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans fleeing political turmoil and poverty in large numbers, according to two administration officials familiar with the proposed plan, which authorities hope will prevent Venezuelans from crossing the southwestern border illegally.
If implemented, the program for Venezuelans will be similar to humanitarian program for Ukrainiansallows a family member or guarantor in the United States to apply on behalf of a refugee and commit to providing them with financial assistance while they are in the country.
While Ukraine’s program enjoys bipartisan support, Republicans have been less welcoming to Venezuelans, more than 150,000 of whom have been detained at the southwestern US border since October 2021. to the end of August.
The humanitarian parole program will not apply to Venezuelans already in the country, but it is hoped that it will encourage migrants to seek asylum in the United States without walking north, rather than crossing the border. illegal. Venezuelans in their home country or those who legally crossed the border into a neighboring country will be eligible for the program. Official ports of entry have been closed to migrants since the beginning of the pandemic, forcing those intending to come to the United States to take a more dangerous route to illegally cross.
Administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an unfinished plan.
Because Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with Caracas, the United States has been unable to repatriate most of the Venezuelans who entered and turned itself in to border officials. Instead, the authorities have allowed most to stay in the country temporarily and face deportation proceedings in immigration court.
In a significant departure from that progress, under the new plan, the administration would eliminate many Venezuelans who had no sponsors or crossed the border illegally. They will be deported to Mexico under the public health agency – known as Title 42 – put in place at the start of the pandemic. This is only possible because Mexico recently agreed to take in Venezuelans deported from the United States under Title 42, according to officials.
What the full scope of the humanitarian parole program will look like and why the administration is considering it immediately remains unclear. Immigration advocates for months have called for a more orderly process that would allow vulnerable immigrants to enter the country without breaking U.S. laws. But they are staunchly opposed to the continued use of the public health agency, which a federal court blocked the Biden administration from lifting earlier this year.
During the Obama and Trump administrations, Mexican and Central American families accounted for most of those crossing the border seeking protection in the United States. But the Biden administration has had to find a way to prevent additional population groups that have hitherto failed to surpass in record numbers, including Venezuelans. Throughout Biden’s tenure, senior White House officials have worried about criticism from both Republicans and Democrats that the administration lacks an orderly way to process and deny immigrants. ineligible for asylum.
In recent months, thousands of Venezuelans have made the perilous journey through Darién Gap between South and Central America to reach the United States. Most people who have been allowed to stay temporarily will eventually face removal procedures that can take years to proceed. The United Nations estimates that more than 6.8 million Venezuelans have left their country.
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According to the most recent government figures, Venezuelans still accounted for only about 7% of all traffic in the southwest from October last year to the end of August.
“The Venezuelans are just a group. You will also see Cubans and Nicaraguans arriving in significant numbers,” said Cris Ramón, an immigration consultant who has written for the Migration Policy Institute and the George W. Bush Institute. “This policy will not address these groups that are coming to the border right now.”
A plan that was recently under consideration by the White House last week includes giving similar humanitarian paroles to Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, according to officials briefed on the discussions. essay. It was not immediately clear why these nationalities were removed. People from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela accounted for about a quarter of all migrants crossing the southwestern border from October last year to the end of August, according to the most recent government data.
Last month, Mr. Biden said“What I’m following now is Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and the possibility of bringing them back to those countries is unreasonable.”
The United States has not repatriated most of the migrants from Cuba and Nicaragua because of ongoing political turmoil in these countries and will likely continue to release them temporarily until they face trial. immigration court, where they can try to argue that they should not be deported.
The White House has long been wary of making any changes to border policy that could encourage more migrants to cross the border illegally.
Calls to protect Venezuelan migrants grew louder after Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican of Florida, flying a group of mainly Venezuelan migrants who illegally entered the country of Martha’s Vineyard, an upscale island off the coast of Massachusetts, last month.
Rebecca Shi, executive director of a business advocacy group, the American Corporate Immigration Coalition, said the new program could benefit Florida, “a place of tourism, construction and post-disaster reconstruction. completely dependent on immigrants and refugees.”
