Venezuelans living in the United States will be eligible to receive temporary protected status for 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.
Why it matters: Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have fled to the U.S. amid economic, political and social turmoil back home. Former President Trump, on his last full day in office, granted some protections to Venezuelans through the U.S. Deferred Enforced Departure program, but advocates and lawmakers said the move didn't go far enough.
Details: The TPS designation allows Venezuelans currently in the U.S. to apply for the protective status, which will last until Sept. 9, 2022.
- "Only individuals who can demonstrate continuous residence in the United States as of March 8, 2021, are eligible for TPS under Venezuela’s designation," the Department of Homeland Security said.
- TPS allows people from other countries to stay and work in the U.S. if their home nations are ravaged by a natural disaster or war, and they're allowed to stay until things improve.
What they're saying: “The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a news release Monday.
- “It is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises," he added.
The big picture: More than 4 million refugees and migrants have fled Venezuela in recent years, according to the United Nations. Many have...