President Joe Biden is allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela to stay and work in the U.S. as federal officials insist it would be unsafe for them to return home.
The Venezuelans, who entered the U.S. illegally, can work and be shielded from deportation after the Department of Homeland Security amended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program to allow individuals who crossed into America after March 2021 and before July 31, 2023, to be eligible for the benefits. According to CBS News, the number of Venezuelans who could become part of the program is around 472,000.
“Temporary protected status provides individuals already present in the United States with protection from removal when the conditions in their home country prevent their safe return,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Wednesday statement. “That is the situation that Venezuelans who arrived here on or before July 31 of this year find themselves in.”
DHS said that the move to extend TPS would result in “approximately hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals” being eligible for work authorization.
The move was pushed for by New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who has frequently complained about the flood of foreign nationals arriving in his city.
“Our administration and our partners across the city have led the calls to ‘Let Them Work,’ so I want to thank President Biden for hearing our entire coalition, including our hard-working congressional delegation, and taking this important step that will bring hope to the thousands of Venezuelan asylum seekers currently in our care who will now be immediately eligible for Temporary Protected Status,” Adams said.
Illegal crossings at the southern border have remained high throughout the Biden administration and, in recent days, have approached record numbers.
From Friday until Monday, an average of 9,000 immigrants a day reportedly crossed the southern border. On Monday alone, more than 9,700 immigrants were reportedly caught or processed crossing the southern border illegally and through ports of entry.
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Videos from the border show streams of foreign nationals crossing into the U.S., with many coming in through Eagle Pass in Texas, where the Biden administration has been accused of cutting down razor wire put up by Texas to deter crossings.
Large groups beginning to cross illegally again into Eagle Pass, TX this morning. pic.twitter.com/WNtnDwZXtZ
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 21, 2023
Biden announced Wednesday that an additional 800 National Guard troops would be sent to the southern border to help with “logistics and other functions at the border” as Customs and Border Protection struggle to deal with the influx.