The Biden administration announced Wednesday, as part of a deal with Mexico that it would allow 24,000 Venezuelan migrants through air traffic. Any future Venezuelan border-crossers crossing into Mexico will be expulsed in exchange.
Only Venezuelans with U.S. sponsors are eligible to show they can support the migrant for at most two years. Americans who already live in America will not be eligible to participate in this program.
Officials said that Venezuelans entering the U.S. illegally after Wednesday’s announcement would not be eligible for the entry program. The government hopes that the program will encourage asylum-seekers to fly to the southern border rather than travel by foot.
Alejandro Mayorkas (U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security) stated that these actions show that there is an orderly and legal route for Venezuelans to enter the United States. Lawful entry is the only option. ” “Anyone who attempts to illegally cross the United States Southern Border will be sent home to Mexico and made ineligible for this process in the future. ”
Mexico requested that the U.S. issue an additional 65,000 visas to migrants for non-agricultural occupations. Biden’s administration has reserved 20,000 spots for Central Americans and Haitians.
Mexico agreed temporarily to allow U.S. migrants into its country as part of the southern frontier agreement. However, it didn’t say how many. Mexico previously refused to admit illegal immigrants to America.
It is unclear how 24,000 people were admitted by the Biden administration. Applicants had to find an American sponsor.
According to the New York Times, 1 million illegal immigrants were allowed into the United States under Biden’s tenure. They are currently awaiting deportation proceedings in immigration court.
More than 150,000 Venezuelan migrants were detained at the southern border in October 2021 and August 2022. Only 7% were made by Venezuelans between those dates.
John Thomas is a Republican strategist who told the New York Times that the announcement was political calculations with midterms around the corner.
Thomas said that this was more an attempt to calm people’s anger over what was going on at the southern border. “It also gives the administration the talking point of ‘doing something.’ ”
The admission process is not complete.
