The administration of Joe Biden announced this Wednesday measures to eliminate the bottleneck created by the immigration system in many cities in the United States. The government has announced the second extension of the protected status granted to Venezuelans, popularly known as TPS (Temporary Protected Status). This will allow 470,000 citizens of the South American country who have crossed the border to obtain work permits and be protected from deportation for 18 months. The program was announced by Biden several years ago and expanded last summer by Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of the Department of Homeland Security. The measure will only benefit Venezuelans who arrived in the North American country before July 31, 2023.
A Department of Homeland Security source has indicated that Biden’s decision was made because of “extraordinary conditions” that do not allow the safe return of Venezuelans to their country. For this reason, the US executive branch has granted a new extension for TPS, which expires in March 2024 and will now end 18 months later. Starting October 1, the government will speed up work permit procedures for immigrants who have an appointment with immigration authorities.
This has been one of the complaints of several mayors in the country, who have welcomed large numbers of immigrants into their cities, overwhelming the shelters. City councils, particularly Democrats in New York, Denver and some cities in California, had called for speeding up procedures to allow immigrants to work and continue their journey within the country.
Biden is relieving immigration pressure in his territory with one hand. On the other hand, he has tightened border surveillance in view of the election year. The government reported this afternoon that it will expedite the expulsion of families who arrived irregularly in the United States. Washington is reacting to the record number of illegal border crossings that the Department of Homeland Security documented in August. Authorities subsequently arrested 91,000 immigrants who made the journey with a family member. It was the highest value in four years. Authorities have already deported around 1,600 people from the same family and promise to increase the pace in the coming weeks.
The government will also increase the authorities’ presence by deploying 800 troops to the shared border with Mexico. This afternoon’s announcement brings the security force presence to 3,300. The executive branch had already deployed 2,500 National Guard members to several hot spots along the line. The mobilization coincides with a surge in the influx of immigrants, particularly through Texas. American media recently showed images of hundreds of people arriving in communities in the Republican stronghold in recent days and waiting to be processed. Some channels say up to 8,000 people cross the street every day.
Authorities have not confirmed the number but admit there is a significant increase. They assure that the official figures will be published soon. However, Homeland Security has confirmed that detention center capacity has been expanded to 23,000 people. These large white tents along the border can accommodate 3,250 more people as of today.
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The United States has deported 250,000 people since May 12, when Title 42 was repealed, a public health measure that Biden inherited from Donald Trump during the pandemic. The regulation made it possible to quickly deport immigrants who entered the country illegally. The Democratic administration left the measure in place for two years, using it as a tool to streamline border management. With its extinction, it was preparing for an impending invasion. This did not happen in the following days, but the figures show that the migration flow has increased steadily since then. The 2022 fiscal year (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023) threatens to be one of the fiscal years with the most illegal border crossings in recent years.
From Washington they reiterate that the conditions that have led to an increase in migration have not changed in recent years. Cited are the economic impact of the coronavirus health crisis in the Northern Hemisphere, climate change and the authoritarian regimes of some nations in the region.
Immigration control is one of the priorities of Republican voters and one of the main issues of the conservative party’s presidential nomination. It is the strong card of Donald Trump, who during his presidency separated migrant families at the border in the hope of reducing the number of border crossings.
But the Biden administration is calling on the opposition to block a special request in Congress for $4 billion for border controls and other measures to combat illegal border crossings. Without this money, the government admits it will continue to face significant challenges at the border with Mexico.
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