Homeland Security
Release Date: October 12, 2022
Venezuelan citizens who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will be returned to Mexico; and a new lawful pathway is created for certain Venezuelan citizens
WASHINGTON – As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's ongoing work to build a fair, safe, and orderly immigration system, the Department of Homeland Security (Department of Homeland Security, DHS) today announced joint actions with Mexico to reduce the number of people arriving at our southwest border and create a more orderly and secure process for those fleeing the humanitarian and economic crisis in Venezuela.
Almost four times more Venezuelans attempted to cross our southwest border than last year, placing their lives in the hands of ruthless human smuggling organizations. Meanwhile, irregular migration from northern Central America is down by one-quarter from last year. The actions the United States and Mexico are announcing today are intended to address the most acute irregular migration and help ease pressure on the cities and states receiving these individuals.
Effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter the United States between ports of entry, without authorization, will be returned to Mexico. At the same time, the United States and Mexico are reinforcing their coordinated enforcement operations to target human smuggling organizations and bring them to justice. That campaign will include new migration checkpoints, additional resources and personnel, joint targeting of human smuggling organizations, and expanded information sharing on transit nodes, hotels, stash houses, and staging locations. The United States is also planning to offer additional security assistance to support regional partners in addressing the migration challenges in the Darién Gap.
Our comprehensive effort to reduce irregular migration of Venezuelans also includes a new process to lawfully and safely bring up to 24,000 qualifying Venezuelans into the United States. The United States will not implement this process without Mexico maintaining its independent, but parallel, effort to accept the return of Venezuelan nationals who bypass this process and attempt to enter irregularly.
“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 Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States unlawfully 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 for work authorization here.”
The goal of this effort is to enhance border security by reducing the number of Venezuelan nationals attempting to enter the United States irregularly. It builds on the success of the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) process, which reduced flows at the border by creating an orderly process for the entry of Ukrainian nationals fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
DHS will closely monitor the implementation of this process, along with Mexico’s independent and parallel efforts, and may consider expanding it in the future.
To be eligible, Venezuelans must:
- have a supporter in the United States who will provide financial and other support;
- pass rigorous biometric and biographical national security and public safety screening and vetting; and
- complete vaccinations and other public health requirements.
Venezuelans are ineligible if they:
- have been ordered removed from the United States in the previous five years;
- have crossed without authorization between ports of entry after the date of announcement;
- have unlawfully entered Mexico or Panama after the date of announcement, or are permanent residents or dual nationals of any country other than Venezuela, or currently hold refugee status in any country; or
- have not completed vaccinations and other public health requirements.
Venezuelans should not travel to Mexico to try to enter the United States.
Venezuelans approved through this process will be authorized, on a case-by-case basis, to travel to the United States by air directly to an interior port of entry, relieving pressure at the border. Once in the United States, they will be eligible to apply for work authorization.
DHS will administer the process, working with communities and other partners. Any U.S.-based individual with lawful status, including representatives of businesses or other organizations or entities, can support a potential Venezuelan beneficiary. Supporters must prove that they have the means to provide financial and other support for the beneficiary. In the coming days, prospective supporters can apply to DHS to support eligible Venezuelans via the following link: www.uscis.gov/
The Department of State will also engage in a robust public messaging campaign throughout the region to communicate this new process and the consequences of attempting irregular entry.
More information will be available in the coming days at www.uscis.gov/Venezuela.
Today’s actions are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to reduce irregular migration throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S. Strategy to Address the Root Causes of Migration and the multinational Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. The process announced today is another element of the United States’ multilateral approach to addressing irregular migration affecting countries throughout Latin America, rooted in pairing joint enforcement against irregular immigration with the creation of safe and lawful pathways for those who qualify.
Venezuelans have been migrating throughout the hemisphere since approximately 2014, but the level of irregular Venezuelan migration has increased dramatically across the hemisphere in recent years. There are currently 2.4 million Venezuelans living in Colombia. More than 25% of the Venezuelan population has left the country. The United States has seen an increasing number of Venezuelan nationals arriving at our border over the past two years, which has surged substantially in recent months. Average monthly unique encounters of Venezuelan nationals at the land border totaled 15,494 in FY 2022, rising to over 25,000 in August and 33,000 in September, compared to a monthly average of 127 unique encounters from FY 2014–2019. Notably, unique encounters of Venezuelan nationals increased 293% between FY 2021 and FY 2022, while unique encounters of all other nationalities combined increased 45%. Currently in Panama, more than 3,000 people, the vast majority Venezuelan nationals, cross into its territory every day from Colombia through the Darién jungle.
The United States, together with Mexico, is also committing to continue expanding lawful labor pathways for Mexican and northern Central American nationals. Over the past year, the United States doubled the number of H-2 visas issued to nationals of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador in northern Central America. Today, we announced the largest-ever supplemental allocation of H-2B visas for FY 2023: nearly 65,000 new H-2B visas, which includes a reserve of 20,000 visas for nationals of northern Central American countries and Haiti. Historically, around 90% of these visas were utilized by Mexican nationals. This increase is paired with strong measures to protect both U.S. workers and H-2B visa holders. Concurrently with this announcement, the Biden-Harris Administration is standing up a White House-led worker protection task force to ensure ethical recruitment standards and dignified working conditions for foreign workers, in addition to protecting American workers.
The United States is also renewing its commitment to addressing the root causes of migration and supporting countries across the region most affected by these flows. To this end, the United States announced nearly $817 million in new assistance since September 2022 under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. This includes more than $240 million in new regional humanitarian and security assistance, $376 million in additional humanitarian assistance for people affected by the Venezuela regional crisis, and more than $199 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Mexico and Central America.
To view the original text, go to: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/
This translation is provided as a courtesy, and only the original English source should be considered authoritative.
