Biden Administration to Offer Succor to Venezuelan Migrants

In what seems like a historic move, the Joe Biden-led administration is ready to welcome 24,000 Venezuelans into the U.S. through the humanitarian parole program. The migrants must have a U.S. sponsor. However, the authorities will extend the COVID-19-era protocol to expel Venezuelans who came into the country illegally.

The parole plan would give Venezuelans a streamlined legal pathway to the U.S. The administration encourages eligible migrants to apply for it remotely and come in through approved routes rather than taking the risky path of the southwest border. It is unimaginable to see desperate Venezuelans trek to the United States through the border mentioned above.

The Department of Homeland Security also promised to expand its public health rule usage to begin to expel Venezuelans who came to the U.S. through illegal borders.

The Biden administration tapped in the Trump-era pandemic era to achieve a balance in tightening border restrictions while also helping refugees simultaneously. While the administration does not want to make it an all-comers’ affair, it is also careful not to shut the door against the deserving ones.

Before now, the authorities did not deport many Venezuelans who came into the U.S. through illegal routes under the public health authority, called Title 42. Instead, the state screened and released them into the country tentatively to undergo removal trials in immigration court, where they can decide to apply for asylum.

Venezuelans applying for the humanitarian parole plan must have a reliable sponsor in the U.S. who can prove that they can financially support the migrant for two years. The state authorities will examine the sponsor’s finances during the application process. They will also vet the applicants who must have certain vaccinations and abide by other public health rules.

“Refugees granted humanitarian parole will have a temporary nod to work legally in the country,” says Attorney Mario Godoy of Godoy Law Office Immigration Lawyers. Anyone already expelled from the United States is not eligible for the parole program. The process is well defined to ensure undeserving individuals do not take undue advantage of it.

What Led to the Humanitarian Parole Program? 

The Biden administration said the success of the Uniting for Ukraine program (an initiative to accommodate Ukrainians who came in through Mexico at the peak of the Russian invasion) inspired it to do more for Venezuelans. The administration has always been sympathetic to the course of genuine refugees.

For instance, the administration has accepted over 100,000 Ukrainians through the Uniting for Ukraine program and other resettlement strategies. The government is willing to do more for distressed people across the world. The Department of Homeland Security has said it will not limit the number of Ukrainians to enjoy this entry formation.

While the Ukrainian parole program enjoys all support across party lines, Republicans have been antagonistic about the plans to welcome thousands of Venezuelans into the country. They have argued on different fronts that the planned humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans is not beneficial to the country.

Security agents apprehended over 150,000 Venezuelans at the U.S. southwestern border between October 2021 and August 2022. Illegal immigrants will encourage other forms of illegalities if they are left to gain free entry into the country. Hence, the administration has been proactive in dealing with the excesses of illegal immigrants while changing the seemingly stifling rules of the Trump era.

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