The White House has approved the postponement of deportations for some Venezuelans in an 11-hour decision President Trump
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The White House said in a memorandum on Tuesday that it approves the deferred maintenance of Venezuela. Recipients of the deferral will be able to live and work in the US, similar to those protected under a temporary protected status (TPS).
The memorandum slammed the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing it of producing “the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory”.
“A catastrophic economic crisis and shortages of basic goods and medicines have forced some five million Venezuelans to flee the country, often under dangerous conditions,” the White House wrote in the memo.
“The deteriorating situation in Venezuela, which poses a continuing threat to national security for the security and well-being of the American people, guarantees the postponement of the removal of Venezuelan nationals present in the United States.”
The new policy is a latest battle against the Maduro regime of the White House, which opposition leader Juan Guaidó has recognized as interim president since 2019 after a 2018 presidential race that Maduro won, but observers say it was fraud.
Maduro apparently held power just after the election as a disturbing humanitarian crisis, fueled by food and medicine shortages, worsened further and Western countries rallied around Guaidó. However, he was eventually able to hold on to the presidency as enthusiasm faded among the opposition and international attention was drawn elsewhere.
In the new policy, deportations are rejected for a citizen of Venezuela, or foreigner without nationality who usually resided in Venezuela on January 20, 2021. ‘
Those not protected under the program include Venezuelans who “voluntarily returned to Venezuela or their country where they had the last habit outside the United States;” did not live permanently in the US; has been convicted of an offense or two or more offenses; is subject to extradition; the Secretary of Homeland Security ‘has determined that it is not in the interests of the United States, or that it poses a danger to public safety;’ the Secretary of State “has reasonable grounds to believe that this would have potentially serious negative consequences for foreign policy for the United States.”
The move was hailed by some Republican lawmakers who have long called on the United States to take a stand against socialist dictatorships such as Venezuela.
‘We have a fundamental obligation to provide a safe haven for those fleeing tyranny and oppression. This act of solidarity offers our Venezuelan exile community a much-needed assurance during these unprecedented times, ‘said Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) Gesê. “I will never stop fighting for this just cause until Venezuela is liberated from the murderous, socialist Maduro regime and is once again a vibrant, prosperous democracy that respects the rule of law.”