Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The Trump administration is moving to end deportation protections for Venezuelans, threatening the legal status for hundreds of thousands of people in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela. The designation was set to expire Sept. 10, but will now be terminated in 60 days.
"Given Venezuela's substantial role in driving irregular migration and the clear magnet effect created by Temporary Protected Status, maintaining or expanding TPS for Venezuelan nationals directly undermines the Trump administration's efforts to secure our southern border and manage migration effectively," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement.
The Biden administration designated Venezuela for TPS in March 2021, permitting Venezuelans in the United States protection from deportation and work eligibility, due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in their home country.
In September that same year, the Biden administration expanded eligibility to some 600,000 Venezuelans already in the country.
