Amid Border Crackdown, White House May Shield Venezuelans From Deportation
Source: NPR
Amid Border Crackdown, White House May Shield Venezuelans From Deportation
August 2, 2019 7:01 PM ET
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ
The White House is on the verge of taking steps to protect thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States from deportation, even as it finds new ways to restrict the ability of asylum-seekers from other countries to claim refuge in the U.S.
The proposal was confirmed by a senior administration official and other U.S. officials familiar with the matter, and it could include work permits. It is controversial inside the Trump administration, which has sought to restrict immigration, and could provoke a backlash from some of Trump's allies. But the administration says it does not want to put Venezuelans in danger.
"We're committed to ensure that no Venezuelan is sent back to a situation where they'll be persecuted by the government of Venezuela or by the dictatorship that is usurping democracy in Venezuela," a senior administration official told NPR and other news outlets Friday.
But there are also political considerations in Florida, a key battleground state, where fear is growing in Venezuelan immigrant communities that friends and loved ones could be deported back to the embattled country.
Top officials at the White House and across the administration have been holding discussions about the possibility of granting temporary protected status or similar protections such as a lesser known program called Deferred Enforced Departure which would give qualified recipients the chance to legally remain in the country and get work permits.
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Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/02/747734905/amid-border-crackdown-white-house-may-shield-venezuelans-from-deportation