WASHINGTON – As one of his last appearances in office, President Trump has approved a program to grant work permits and deportation protection to Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission, which an elected president, Joe Biden, promised to do by 2020. campaign.
The designation, formally known as Deferred Enforcement, provides legal protection to any Venezuelan citizen who is present in the United States for 18 months by January 20, 2021. According to the Institute for Migration Policy, it is likely to benefit at least 94,000 Venezuelans in the country from 2018 without permission, although analysts believe the current number is likely to be higher.
Mr. Trump’s move is seen as a form of pressure the US government could use against Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan authoritarian leader who targeted the Trump administration with sanctions, a restricted travel ban and other measures. In January 2019, the US officially recognized the country’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the interim president of Venezuela.
During the 2020 campaign, Mr. Biden said he would offer Venezuelan immigrants temporary protected status if he won the election, with a big question to the Venezuelan-American community in Florida that he be suing. TPS is approximately identical to the Deferred Forced Departure Program in the protection it provides. DED is issued directly by a president, while TPS must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Republicans and Democrats in Florida are campaigning for the move – South Florida is home to one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the U.S. – and the White House has long debated whether to take the step.