Trump Approves Deportation Protections for Venezuelans on Last Night in Office

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Jan 20, 2021 02:29 AM EST

(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump holds two thumbs up during a Republican National Committee Victory Rally at Dalton Regional Airport January 4, 2021 in Dalton, Georgia.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order approving deportation protections for Venezuelans on his final night in the office.

Under Trump's deportation protections, Venezuelans will be deferred from removal in the U.S. for 18 months, citing conditions in the South American country, reported Reuters.

In a memo, he told the secretaries of state and homeland security that the "deteriorative condition within Venezuela" presented a national security threat to Americans and warranted his deportation protections for Venezuelan nationals who were in the U.S.

However, Venezuelans who committed a felony would be exempted from Trump's order. The Pew Research Center estimated that about 130,000 people from Venezuela were living illegally in the United States in 2017, and the numbers rose from then.

The decision could now provide deportation protections to about 200,000 Venezuelans who are afraid of detention or being sent back to the South American country.

Trump Uses DED to Offer Temporary Legal Status to Venezuelans

Under the order, Trump used the little-known Deferred Enforced Departure program, or DED, for Venezuelans, reported Politico. It provides temporary legal status in the U.S. as they flee the crisis brought by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's regime.

Similar to the Temporary Protected Status or TPS, the DED allows recipients to get work permits. However, it has to be granted by the president instead of the Department of Homeland Security.

Last year, the State Department had already considered the DED to protect Venezuelans. However, talks have been stalled over relief disputes, particularly whether it should be included in Trump's Venezuela strategy.

The move to use the DED instead of the TPS comes as Republicans were concerned that the TPS would lead recipients to a path to a permanent residency in the U.S., unlike the DED where the chief executive can end it without as many procedural hurdles.

This means President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office hours after Trump signed the order, will have the authority to reverse or amend the action at any time.

How the incoming administration wants to handle the situation is still unknown as transition officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Miami Herald noted that Trump Republican allies in Florida had advocated the deportation protections for some time. Even Trump considered it for years but did not act on it until now, added Politico.

Florida Officials Urged Trump to Grant Eligible Venezuelans with DED

Florida leaders had pushed Trump to act on the DED for Venezuelans since October. At the time, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who was heavily involved in the Latin American region's policy, urged Trump to grant the DED to some Venezuelans as a temporary solution.

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart also pushed the Trump administration to offer temporary legal status to Venezuelans, citing the situation with Maduro.

The party also saw it as a good way to build more goodwill with South Florida's Venezuelan community as elections were drawing near at the time.

The Trump administration spearheaded a "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign to get Maduro out of power and supported the opposition, Juan Guadó, as the country's president. However, that campaign fell through, and Maduro now holds all institutions in the country.

Biden previously vowed that Venezuelans would be given temporary protected status as the crisis unfolds.