The Biden administration has said that Venezuelan immigrants who illegally entered the United States will be directly deported back to the South American country after a record number crossed the southern border last month.
The shift in policy comes after years of bypassing regular deportations to Venezuela due to nearly two decades of tense relations with its socialist government. The U.S. has imposed sanctions against the Venezuelan government and national individuals for the last 17 years related to its lack of cooperation on anti-drug and counterterrorism efforts.
But now, the Department of Homeland Security has said the federal government plans to resume direct deportations after preliminary data showed approximately 50,000 Venezuelans illegally entered the U.S. last month, shattering the monthly record of 34,000 set in September 2022.
“Today’s announcement makes clear that we are committed to strictly enforcing immigration laws and quickly removing individuals who do not avail themselves of these orderly processes and choose to cross our border unlawfully,” the DHS said in a statement.
The spike in illegal crossings made by Venezuelan nationals came the same month that the Biden administration permitted 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.
“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 statement on September 21. “That is the situation that Venezuelans who arrived here on or before July 31 of this year find themselves in.”
More than seven million Venezuelans have fled the socialist regime in recent years, according to the United Nations, as the country faces economic collapse. The Venezuelan crisis has caused the largest migrant exodus in the world, surpassing the migrant exodus in Syria and Ukraine.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
The all-time high of illegal crossings into the U.S. comes after President Joe Biden removed Trump-era immigration policies.
Former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden administration Wednesday after Mayorkas said there is an “acute and immediate need” to waive dozens of federal laws and build a border wall in Texas, echoing one of Trump’s signature policies.
“Biden sees our country is being invaded,” the former president said. “What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?”
Trump added that the U.S. needs to return to his policies to mitigate the border crisis.
“He has to reinstate Remain in Mexico and Title 42,” Trump said. “He has to do all of the other things that we were doing.”
“As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!” Trump wrote on social media. “Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving…”
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.