Look at the requirements of the new US immigration plan for Venezuelans and who it affects

The humanitarian crisis in Venezuelaadded to the blow that the coronavirus pandemic has meant in South American countries, is forcing more and more citizens of that country to look for a new place to live: USA. And to reach North American territory, a large part of the Venezuelans who leave their country or other nations in the region are crossing the dangerous Gap of Darién on foot, an almost impregnable jungle located between Colombia and Panama. This route saw an increase in the flow of migrants after Mexico began to require a visa for citizens of Venezuela.

Now this growing flow of Venezuelan migrants that reach the border between Mexico and the United States has forced the Government of Joe Biden to dictate new measures to regulate it.

READ ALSO: What has changed on the border between Colombia and Venezuela three weeks after the expected opening

Before detailing what the new rules say, it is worth reviewing the latest figures on the arrival of Venezuelan migrants to the United States.

An immigrant family walks to the bus from St. Andrews in Edgartown, Mass., to Vineyard Haven, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times via AP, File)

In September of this year, the UN reported that there are about .

LOOK: The United States announces new measures to control Venezuelan migration

While the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants (R4V) indicated that the majority of the more than 6.8 million Venezuelan migrants is in Latin America and the Caribbean (more than 5.7 million).

The R4V added that of the more than 6.8 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the world, 465,200 were in USA in 2019, the last year in which they updated the figure on nationals of Venezuela in that country.

Venezuelan migration through the Darién Gap. (AFP).

For its part, the UN figures until the first half of 2020 accounted for 505,647 Venezuelans in the United States. That same figure is in a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of 2022.

According to CNN en Español, the increase in Venezuelans arriving in the United States is reflected in the arrests (or “encounters”) carried out by US authorities both on the border and in the rest of the territory.

Between October 2021 and August 2022 alone, more than 150,000 Venezuelan migrants were detained at the southern border of USAof which more than 95,000 so far this year, according to data from the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The figure for August this year reflects that there is a sharp rise, as some 25,000 Venezuelans were intercepted by US authorities at the border.

Arrests at the Mexico-United States border. (AFP).

the new rules

In this context, through a legal channel similar to that applied to Ukrainians, and expel those who enter illegally through the southern border.

The plan “to reduce the irregular migration of Venezuelans” includes “a new process to legally and safely bring up to 24,000 Venezuelans,” the official said in a statement. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“There is a legal and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States and legal entry is the only way,” emphasized the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Venezuelans who will be eligible to temporarily reside in the United States must comply with the following:

They are not eligible:

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Migrants await processing by Border Patrol after illegally crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

CNN en Español explained that the plan aims to serve as an expanded and more orderly process for the migration of Venezuelans to the United States. If the immigrants meet the criteria, then they would be paroled into the US and they will also be able to work legally in the country.

Thus, under this program, a Venezuelan citizen will be able to legally enter the United States if a person or organization in that country supports the applicant’s request. This person will enter the United States by air and will be able to apply for a job during their immigration processaccording to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

This program prioritizes entry into the United States by air and not through the border with Mexico. The objective is to discourage irregular migration.

DHS says on its website that more information on where sponsors, whether businesses or individuals, will be available very soon.

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.

“Those who try to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will not be able to apply for this program in the future”the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said on Wednesday.

Source: Elcomercio