WASHINGTON – As one of his last acts of office, President Trump approved a program to grant work permits and protections from deportation to Venezuelan immigrants in the US without legal authorization, an action President-elect Joe Biden promised to take during the 2020 campaign.
The designation formally known as Delayed Enforced Departure provides legal protection to any Venezuelan citizen present in the US for 18 months from January 20, 2021. According to the Migration Policy Institute, at least 94,000 Venezuelans in the country are likely to benefit without permission, according to the Migration Policy Institute, although analysts believe the current number is likely higher.
Mr Trump’s move is seen as a form of pressure the US administration can exert on Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan authoritarian leader who has attacked the Trump administration with sanctions, a restricted travel ban and other measures. In January 2019, the US officially recognized the country’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the interim president of Venezuela.
During the 2020 campaign, Mr. Biden said he would offer temporary protected status to Venezuelan immigrants if he won the election, addressing an important question he was pursuing from the Venezuelan-American community in Florida. TPS is roughly identical to the Delayed Forced Departure program in the protection it provides. DED is issued directly by a president, while TPS must be approved by the Homeland Security Secretary.
Republicans and Democrats in Florida have lobbied for the move – South Florida is home to one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the US – and the White House has long questioned whether to make the move.