WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a halt to the removal of certain Venezuelans from the United States for 18 months, citing conditions in the South American country.
“The deteriorating situation in Venezuela, which poses a continuing threat to the national security and well-being of the American people, warrants the postponement of the removal of Venezuelan citizens present in the United States,” Trump said on the eve. of the White House, in a memo to secretaries of state and homeland security.
Some Venezuelans, including those who have committed a crime, are exempt from the order.
Elected U.S. President Joe Biden said in late October that he would provide “immediate” humanitarian protection to Venezuelans living in the United States, enabling them to stay in the country and obtain work permits.
The Pew Research Center think tank estimated that in 2017, 130,000 Venezuelans lived illegally in the United States.
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke; Edited by Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam)