Biden Announces Temporary Protected Status For Immigrants, Protects Against Deportation

This past Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced that they will allow nearly 500,000 Venezuelans to work in the US legally for 18 months. About half a million Venezuelans will be protected from deportation, and with the recent flow of migrants into New York, leaders have been pushing for action by the Biden Administration. New York City Mayor, Eric Mays has been the main figurehead demanding status for the thousands of migrants coming into the city “who have strained local and state resources.”[1] He claimed that there was no sense of leadership from Biden when regarding the migrant crisis. The number of asylum seekers had reached over 100,000 as of spring 2022, with costs reaching up to $12 billion.[2] With constant outreach to the Biden Administration, it seemed to have raised tension with the White House and the New York City Mayor, which appears to be valid. New York was and still is the epicenter of the migrant influx and, by bearing the cost of resources, further progression in the city begins to decline.[3] The Temporary Protected Status extension is only applicable to those who arrived in the U.S. before July 31st of this year and, therefore, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that those who arrive after the date are “not eligible for such protection, and instead will be removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay.”[4] Additionally with TPS, the Biden administration is providing $140 million in emergency funds for New York and identifying migrants eligible for employment. It is apparent that one of the solutions to solving the influx in migrants is to limit the number of people over the border. Unfortunately, those who don’t make it in time are deported back to their countries, where resources and leadership are deteriorating.

The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has caused an influx in the numbers of migrants crossing the southern border. Currently, 7.3 million Venezuelans are displaced worldwide, becoming the largest displacement crisis in the world, just to escape poverty and unsafety.[5] However, this decision from the Biden Administration will at least give them status to make a living. The question is then whether this plan will draw in more migrants from Venezuela into the United States. Associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, Julia Gelatt states that “research has not established a clear link between temporary status and increased migration.”[6] However, some Venezuelans think that it will bring more migrants into the U.S. However, most people migrating from Venezuela are probably less concerned about T.P.S. and more so trying to escape the economic and political climate of their home country. This is, of course, a victory for states like New York, and a big step towards solving the migration crisis, however, there is still work to be done. May’s outspoken criticisms of the administration’s slow response have been used as leverage by Republicans to attack Biden, however, the focus should be on solving the situation in New York and making sure that the government pulls through on their task for the Venezuelans coming into the U.S.