By Luis De Jesus
Chad Wolf, former acting secretary of Homeland Security during the Donald Trump administration, warned that human smugglers or coyotes, as they are also known, will take advantage of the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan migrants.
The measure, announced on Thursday by the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, will further encourage the mobilization of undocumented immigrants to the country’s southern border because they will be granted the benefit they want, Wolf declared to the Voice of America.
The renewal and expansion of the TPS will benefit 472,000 Venezuelans, who will be able to reside and work legally in the North American nation.
Mayorkas, in a press conference, explained that the program will be expanded until all Venezuelan citizens who have resided continuously in the United States since July 31 of this year are welcomed.
This significantly increases the number of people who can benefit from protection for a period of 18 months.
The Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States explained that it is not safe for foreigners to return to their country due to humanitarian, security, political and environmental conditions, which have not changed.
He said that Joe Biden’s government uses the “few tools it has” because Congress has not approved the significant changes needed in the country’s immigration system, which is “absolutely broken.”
“It is vital that Venezuelans understand that those who arrived here after July 31, 2023 cannot access that protection and, instead, will be deported when it is determined that they have no legal reasons to stay,” the official warned.
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