Prime government United StateLast week, Joe Biden announced a new immigration plan under which he would provide 24,000 permits to Venezuelans, but would return to Mexico anyone who crossed the border irregularly.
The program is calledOperation for Venezuelans‘, provides those who have a sponsor in the United States with permission to travel to the country by plane and stay in the country for a temporary period of two years during which they will be able to obtain a work permit.
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this tuesday, The United States has begun the application process for 24,000 temporary immigration permits for Venezuelans, As part of the agreement with Mexico to limit the crossing of migrants at the border.
“We hope this effort will reduce the record numbers of Venezuelans seeking to enter the United States irregularly,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on its website.
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The US will only approve 24,000 such permits, a number less than the number of Venezuelans who crossed the border with Mexico in September alone: 25521.
The agency stated that the decision to increase the number of beneficiaries of the program will depend on the Secretary of National Security Alejandro Mallorcas.
need a sponsor
The process of applying for the permit is done online (in A program called Operation for Venezuelans) s It is the sponsor who must initiate the application, Proof that you have sufficient financial resources to support the potential beneficiary for two years.
Sponsors must also have legal status in the United States, Which includes political asylum and temporary protection status (TPS).
Both recipients and applicants must undergo a security background check.
from the program Venezuelans who have been deported from the United States in the past five years are excluded, Those who have irregularly crossed the border with Mexico or who entered Panama or Mexico irregularly before October 19.
Persons with dual citizenship cannot obtain a permit. Or permanent residents of another country or minors traveling without a companion.
back start
Hundreds of Venezuelans have already been sent back to Mexico Since Washington announced the new measures last week, they have been criticized by immigrant rights groups.
“This relief program only benefits the least vulnerable Venezuelans — those who have ties to the United States, valid documents and can pay for job applications — and leaves many others stumbled.”Yael Schacher, director of Refugees International in America, told EFE.
The United States has seen an increase in the number of Venezuelans crossing the border with Mexico in the past year.: Between October 2021 and August 2022, more than 150,000 Venezuelans They were arrested on the southern US border, compared to 50,499 in the same period last year.
Because The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Venezuela.immigration authorities were unable to deport those arrested across the border to Venezuela on flights.
Now, with a new deal, Mexico agreed to receive the returning Venezuelans on its territory.
The Biden government justifies this action as an implementation of Title 42, a public health regulation imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic inherited from the administration of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).
