Venezuelans who “do not establish a legal basis to remain” in the U.S. will be shipped back, a senior Biden official announced Thursday. In an attempt to curb the horrific border crisis, the Biden administration is beginning to take at least some action.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke at a news conference Thursday in Mexico City stating Venezuela has agreed to receive migrants “who do not take advantage of the lawful pathways and instead arrive irregularly at our southern border and do not qualify for relief.”
The quick change of policy comes after just one month ago, when in an attempt to accommodate and assimilate some of the many thousands of Venezuelan newcomers, the Biden administration announced it would grant temporary legal status (TPS) to nearly half-a-million Venezuelans who had arrived in the U.S. by the end of July, allowing them to live and work in the country without fear of deportation.
Roughly 242,700 Venezuelans were covered under the TPS designation before the change, which may make another 472,000 migrants eligible. The re-designation protects the migrants from deportation and gives them employment authorization. The Biden administration claims the deportations do not represent an inconsistency from the expansion of TPS for Venezuelan migrants.
One official told NBC “We as a matter of policy and as a matter of historical practice continue to remove individuals to countries that have TPS designations after the date of the TPS designation,” the official said. “So this is not something any new or different from the long-standing practice of this administration, but really all previous administrations.”
Nonetheless, Mayorkas confirmed the deportation update at the press conference in Mexico: “We have made a determination that it is safe to return Venezuelan nationals who have arrived in the United States subsequent to July 31 and do not have a legal basis to remain here,” he said.
Additionally, Mayorkas announced the Biden administration would resume building the border wall for the first time since former President Donald Trump left office; a direct violation of Biden’s campaign promises. In order to continue the build, Mayorkas waved 26 federal laws, primarily environmental laws.
