Several hundred thousand Venezuelans who fled their nation's economic chaos and political repression will become eligible for temporary legal residency in the U.S., Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration announced it would grant a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Venezuelan refugees already in the States, in a significant policy shift from the former Trump era, officials said.
The TPS will allow an estimated 320,000 people to apply to legally live and work in the U.S. for 18 months until September next year.
"The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens," AFP quoted Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas as saying.
The move fulfils a pledge that Biden made during the 2020 election campaign to provide shelter to Venezuelans who left their country during an economic collapse, humanitarian crisis and political turmoil under President Nicolas Maduro, Aljazeera reported.
Around 5.4 million Venezuelans have emigrated in the last few years as a result of their country's turmoil, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Colombia also recently offered temporary protection for up to 10 years to almost 1 million Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers in that country.
Meanwhile, thousands of illegal immigrants are being set free across the U.S. as the crisis on the southern border worsens.
According to the White House, it is not doing enough to deter people from seeking unlawful entry to the U.S.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged the failures after being pressed about the administration's handling of the situation.
"I would say it's clear we need to work more on getting the message out and being very clear, now is not the time to come," she said in remarks quoted by The New York Post.
According to senior ICE official Russell Hott, the number of unaccompanied minors and families arriving at the border this year are "expected to be the highest numbers observed in over 20 years," as per the Washington Post report.
