The immigration authorities of the United States have changed the way of processing the entry into the country of Venezuelan citizens who have concentrated on the border with Mexico. They say that it is an experimental program that, if successful, could be expanded to other countries.
From now on, Venezuelans must arrive by air with documentation and have the support of a family member or someone else who is responsible for their stay in the country and agrees to assume the necessary expenses, including maintenance. And they have offered a package of 24,000 annual humanitarian visas.
However, those who have entered Mexico or Panama after the announcement, have permanent residence or dual nationality or refugee status in another country will not be eligible for the program.
Blas Nuñez-Neto, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Acting Undersecretary for Border and Immigration Policy, said in phone conference that those who enter now from Panama and Mexico “will not be eligible” for the new plan.
“To those who are on the move, I want to say clearly to stay where you are, not to enter Mexico and not to try to cross our border,” he said.
It is estimated that more than seven million people have fled Venezuela in search of a better life due to the political and economic crisis plaguing the nation. Many stayed in other Latin American countries, but arrivals in the United States have multiplied in the last year. Venezuelans have become the second nationality with the most interceptions at the border, after the Mexican.
Under pressure from Washington, Mexico placed restrictions on air travel by Venezuelan migrants in January. From then on, the passage through the jungle of the Panamanian province of Darién, on the border with Colombia, increased. Mexico also recently pledged to hold Venezuelans at the border.
So far in 2022, more than 151,000 people have crossed into Panama through the jungle. Of them, 107,000 Venezuelans. According to Nuñez-Neto, some 3,000 migrants cross Panama daily. Most are also from Venezuela.
In an attempt to curb arrivals, the Biden administration announced this program on Wednesday that penalizes those who cross the border illegally and encourages legal arrival, a plan similar to the one that was applied for Ukrainians after the Russian invasion in February. .
Those who receive authorization will be able to enter the United States through airports and will have a work permit for about two years, Nuñez-Neto said. The process can be started online from any country you are in and it will be expedited. In some cases, it could be approved in as little as a week, she added.
“It is also important to note that people are not eligible to participate in this process if they have been deported from the United States within five years from the date of the announcement,” the official said.
When asked if this new strategy to control illegal immigration could cover other countries such as Cuba or Nicaragua, Nuñez-Nieto did not commit to other nationalities, but maintained that if the plan works well with Venezuelans, the number of visas could increase and even include other countries.
“This program is for Venezuelans and only Venezuelans, but, as we said yesterday, we are going to be closely reviewing how effective it is in reducing migratory flows. And if it works, we’re going to start a process to see if it can be expanded,” he said.
