March 8, 2021

Biden Will Grant Thousands of Venezuelans Temporary Protected Status to Stay in the United States

More than 300,000 people could benefit from the program which follows in Colombia’s footsteps.

Dozen of Venezuelans in DC protest against Maduro.Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

In a significant policy change, the Biden administration will allow Venezuelans in the United States to apply for temporary protected status for a period of 18 months, effective tomorrow. TPS provides relief from deportation and work authorization to citizens of countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary conditions that compromise their safety. An estimated 320,000 people from Venezuela living in the US as of March 8, 2021 could benefit from the program. The Los Angeles Times first reported the shift regarding the status of Venezuelans, citing information from congressional sources.

Since 2014, more than 5 million Venezuelans have fled political turmoil, economic instability, and an ongoing humanitarian crisis under Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime in what has become the largest exodus in Latin America’s recent history. Most have settled in neighboring South American countries, with Colombia‘s government being noteworthy for its welcoming policy. In February, President Iván Duque announced that the government will provide legal status to 1.7 million migrants from Venezuela for 10 years, a move that has been lauded as an example not only for the region, but the world.

During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised to extend TPS to Venezuelans living in the US. Between 2017 and 2019, Venezuela ranked among the top five countries of origin for asylum seekers coming to the United States. 

Today’s decree will mark a departure from former President Donald Trump’s approach of pressuring Maduro—by imposing sanctions and showing support to the opposition leader Juan Gauidó—while denying temporary status to those fleeing widespread hunger, violence, and persecution. During his final hours in office, Trump did sign an executive order halting the deportation of thousands of Venezuelans for 18 months. But critics described it as “a political act, not a humanitarian one.”

Although the lesser-known Deferred Enforced Departure program offered similar relief to TPS, it still left many in a legal limbo to apply for work authorization and at the discretion of the next administration. The United States deported hundreds of Venezuelans back to their home country under Trump. Democrats have continued to push for TPS, a more secure form of protection.

“After years of empty rhetoric from the previous administration, today’s decision to provide Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans in the United States marks a major victory in our efforts to build a fair and humane immigration system,” said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who has pushed for legislation to grant temporary status to Venezuelans. “To keep deporting Venezuelans back to Maduro’s tragedy would be to tell them they are a burden on our communities, a menace to our national security, and an unwelcome guest in our country. Reality and our national interest are precisely the opposite.” 

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate