Venezuelan Migrants Score Big Win as Joe Biden Grants Legal Status To 450,000 Asylum Seekers

Venezuelan migrants fleeing their home country of Venezuela have been granted a reprieve as President Joe Biden has announced that they will be allowed to work legally under new rules.

Around 472,000 migrants from Venezuela, which is suffering under the Maduro regime, will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status for a period of 18 months. According to the BBC, the announcement came as Democrats called on Biden to expand work access for newly arrived migrants.

Several US cities have been overwhelmed with all the migrants trying to escape Venezuela, which has been suffering from political and economic woes as President Nicolas Maduro slowly erodes democracy in the country.

To qualify for Temporary Protected Status, Venezuelan migrants must have started living in the US on or before July 31. This grants them temporary deportation relief and access to work permits. Because of this, they will be allowed to work in the US while waiting for their asylum request to be granted or denied.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that this TPS was needed due to Venezuela having "increased instability and lack of safety."

"Temporary protected status provides individuals already present in the United States with protection from removal when the conditions in their home country prevent their safe return," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas states.

As for the Venezuelan migrants who arrived after the July 31 cut-off, Mayorkas warned that they will "be removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay."

Millions of Venezuelans Have Fled Their Country's Authoritarian Rule

A large number of migrants who come to the US are from Venezuela, with an alarming number of them leaving the country and, as CBS News puts it, "marking the largest refugee crisis ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere."

Around seven million have already left the country, with many of them resettling in other parts of Latin America, such as Colombia. However, many also head north for a better life in the US, trekking a hard path that includes the treacherous Darrien Gap, passing through gang territories in Central America, and navigating areas controlled by Mexican drug cartels before finally reaching the US-Mexico border.

President Nicolas Maduro has already been accused by the UN of probable crimes against humanity. These include extrajudicial killings and the systematic use of torture. He has also used the law to quash opposition and plunged Venezuela into an unprecedented economic crisis.

New York Officials Praise Joe Biden for Granting Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Migrants

One of the most overwhelmed states is New York, as it has become the target of busing by red states, particularly Texas and Florida, in their political stunts. Around 40% of the migrants in New York right now are Venezuelan, and Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are welcoming Biden's decision because of this, according to ABC-7.

"Protective status simply gives them a shorter window, after which they can apply for their asylum and work status, 30 days versus 180, it allows them to work sooner," said the New York governor.

Meanwhile, Adams said this means that around 15,000 Venezuelans currently in city shelters can be moved "out of our care."

However, Adams warned that there are still many more migrants in the city, as a large number of them are not from Venezuela and are not eligible for TPS.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: TPS expansion for Venezuelans in the US - CBS Miami