What do the new measures announced by the US to control Venezuelan migration consist of?

The government of Joe Biden agreed to accept up to 24,000 migrants Venezuelanssimilar to how Ukrainians were admitted after the Russian invasion, while Mexico agreed to accept some Venezuelans who are expelled from USAsaid the two nations. Wednesday.

In a related announcement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it will make available nearly 65,000 temporary work visas for lower-skilled industries, roughly double the current annual allocation. At least 20,000 of those temporary work visas will be reserved for Haiti and the countries of northern Central America.

LOOK: Hundreds of Venezuelan Migrants Cross into the United States from Mexico Hoping for Asylum

The agreement on Venezuelansannounced by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the United States and Mexico, addresses an unusually large increase in Venezuelans arriving at the US border with Mexico after a perilous overland journey that included the famous Darien Gap from Panama.

A migrant family from Venezuela crosses the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on the US-Mexico border, on June 30, 2022. (CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

According to the agreement, Venezuelans who are elected would arrive at US airports. The United States has agreed to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war for stays of up to two years and has admitted tens of thousands so far, including nearly 17,000 in August.

DHS will return to Mexico most Venezuelans who are intercepted after crossing the southern border; The expulsions will be carried out under Title 42, a public health regulation imposed at the beginning of the pandemic and inherited from the Administration of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

The measures are intended to “reduce the number of people arriving at the border” irregularly and create a “more orderly” migration process for Venezuelans fleeing the “humanitarian and economic crisis in their country,” a US government official said in a press call on Wednesday.

Venezuelans recently overtook Guatemalans and Hondurans to become the second-largest nationality apprehended at the US border after Mexicans.. In August, Venezuelans were detained 25,349 times, up 43% from the 17,652 in July and four times the 6,301 encounters in August 2021, indicating a remarkably sudden demographic change.

A migrant family from Venezuela stands in Eagle Pass, Texas, near the Mexican border, on June 30, 2022. (CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

Under this immigration program, from which deportees from the US in the last five years or people who have entered Panama or Mexico irregularly are excluded, the US government will initially accept 24,000 people, the official.

To apply to the program, interested Venezuelans must demonstrate that they have a sponsor in the US. that can prove that it has the financial resources for the period of time that the migrants are going to reside in the country.

In addition, recipients must pass a “national security and public safety” screening, DHS said in a statement.

An estimated 6.8 million Venezuelans have fled their country since the economy collapsed in 2014, mainly to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. But the relative strength of the US economy since the COVID-19 pandemic has caused Venezuelan migrants to look north. Additionally, strained relations with the Venezuelan government make it extremely difficult to send them home under Title 42 authority, encouraging more to come.

Mexicounder pressure from the Biden administration, introduced air travel restrictions to limit Venezuelan migration to the United States in January, but many later switched to the Darien Gap route.

Source: Elcomercio