U.S. will return Venezuelans crossing illegally to Mexico, but opens new pathway to asylum
The United States and Mexico have agreed on a program intended to reduce a record flow of Venezuelan migrants to the U.S. southern border, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday.
Mexico has agreed to accept expulsions of Venezuelan migrants who are intercepted entering the United States between ports of entry — a move intended to dissuade Venezuelan asylum seekers from crossing the border illegally, senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday night.
At the same time, to incentivize legal migration, the Biden administration will launch a humanitarian parole program that will allow up to 24,000 Venezuelans to be sponsored for entry into the United States.
Over 6.8 million Venezuelans have fled their country since its leader, Nicolás Maduro, tightened his grip on power, precipitating an economic and political crisis. Almost 2 million Venezuelan refugees have found refuge in Colombia.
But recent months have seen a growing number of Venezuelans heading toward the United States, traveling hundreds of miles on foot through Central America. More than 150,000 have been encountered crossing the U.S. southern border in the past year alone.
“Almost four times as many Venezuelans as last year attempted to cross our southern border, placing their lives in the hands of ruthless smuggling organizations,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “The actions the United States and Mexico are announcing today are intended to address the most acute irregular migration and help ease pressure on the cities and states receiving these individuals.”
The program will require Venezuelan beneficiaries to find U.S. citizens or otherwise lawful residents — including Venezuelans with temporary protected status in the United States — willing to apply to financially sponsor them.
“We are aiming to deter irregular migration, while we’re creating an incentive to opt into a safe, orderly and legal pathway,” a senior administration official said.
The program was partially designed on Uniting for Ukraine, a program for Ukrainians seeking asylum in the United States from Russia’s invasion of their country.
“Individuals who enter irregularly after the announcement, who are Venezuelan, will be returned to Mexico,” a second senior administration official said. “But we are also providing this opportunity for individuals who have supporters identified in the United States to travel to the United States and receive work authorization for a period of up to two years. Those individuals will go through a thorough national security and public safety review prior to being authorized to travel to the United States.”
The official said that the legal basis for the expulsions would be Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration rule that requires the U.S. government to remove migrants crossing illegally if they are coming from countries with widespread communicable diseases. DHS continues to enforce Title 42 under court order.
But Venezuelans can apply for exceptions to Title 42, as an alternative to the new program, the official said.
“In terms of individuals who are in Mexico after this announcement, we continue to process robust numbers of people through our Title 42 exception process at our ports of entry, and these are individuals who are particularly vulnerable,” the official said. “We anticipate that will continue while Title 42 is in place, and we’d encourage Venezuelan nationals in Mexico to access the U.S. either through this process we’re announcing today, or through a Title 42 exception process at a port of entry.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 7:24 PM.
