US, Mexico plan Ukraine-type relief for Venezuela migrants

Venezuelans do not have to be in Venezuela to be eligible and may come from other countries, administration officials said. An estimated 6.8 million Venezuelans have fled their country since the economy tanked in 2014, mostly to Latin America and Caribbean countries.

San Diego:The Biden administration agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants at US airports, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia's invasion, while Mexico has agreed to take back Venezuelans who come to the US illegally over land, the US and Mexico said on Wednesday. Effective immediately, Venezuelans who walk or swim across the border will be immediately returned to Mexico under a pandemic rule known as Title 42 authority, which suspends rights to seek asylum under the US and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Any Venezuelan who illegally enters Mexico or Panama after Wednesday will also be ineligible to come to the US under the offer.

The US offer of parole for up to 24,000 Venezuelans is modelled on a similar programme for Ukrainians who fled Russia's invasion and will hinge on Mexico keeping in place its independent but parallel effort to take back Venezuelans who come illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said. The moves are a response to a dramatic increase in migration from Venezuela, which leapfrogged over Guatemala and Honduras in August to become the second-largest nationality arriving at the US border after Mexico. "These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way, said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will be ineligible for this process in the future. Those who follow the lawful process will have the opportunity to travel safely to the United States and become eligible to work here. In a related announcement, Homeland Security said it will make available nearly 65,000 temporary work visas for lower-skilled industries, roughly double the current annual allotment.

At least 20,000 of those temporary visas will be reserved for Haiti and northern Central American countries. Until now, Mexico has agreed to accept migrants expelled under Title 42 only if they are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, in addition to Mexico, resulting in highly uneven enforcement. The US struggles to expel other nationalities due to costs, strained diplomatic relations and other considerations. Poor relations with the Venezuelan government have made it nearly impossible to apply Title 42.

The pandemic rule has been used 2.3 million times since March 2020 but applied only 2,453 times to Venezuelans. In August, Venezuelans were stopped 25,349 times, up 43 per cent from 17,652 in July and four times the 6,301 encounters in August 2021, signalling a remarkably sudden demographic shift. The announcement amounts to a potentially major expansion of Title 42 even though the administration recently sought to end it.

Senior officials told reporters they are bound by a federal judge's decision in May to keep Title 42 in place. Venezuelans who successfully apply online will come to the US through an airport, similar to an effort that began in April to admit up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war for stays of up two years. The US has admitted tens of thousands of Ukrainians since then, including nearly 17,000 in August.

Venezuelans, like Ukrainians, must have a financial sponsor in the United States. They also must figure out how to reach the US. There are currently no flights allowed from Venezuela due to US concerns about the safety of Venezuela's aviation industry.

The restriction applies to charter and commercial flights. Venezuelans do not have to be in Venezuela to be eligible and may come from other countries, administration officials said. An estimated 6.8 million Venezuelans have fled their country since the economy tanked in 2014, mostly to Latin America and Caribbean countries.

But the US economy's relative strength since the COVID-19 pandemic has caused Venezuelan migrants to look north. The Biden administration's inability to apply Title 42 has provided more incentive. Mexico, under pressure from the US administration, introduced restrictions on air travel to limit Venezuelan migration to the United States in January, but many then shifted to a dangerous route over land that includes Panama's notorious Darien Gap. The surge in Venezuelan migration has emerged as a major challenge to authorities in the US, Mexico and Central America and a test of a hemispheric agreement reached in June in Los Angeles for countries that host migrants to confront issues together. (AP)