Trump Administration suspends Deportations for Venezuelans for the next 18 months

Surprising last-minute measure by the Trump Administration to suspend deportations and expulsions of Venezuelans for the next 18 months !!!

– Which Venezuelans does the measure actually protect?

– If the conditions for further immigration changes by the new Biden administration will favor the implementation of the Trump Administration’s measure immediately?

As a lawyer dedicated to immigration issues and of Venezuelan origin, I welcome the measure issued by the outgoing government authorities on immigration matters, especially when it comes to protecting our Venezuelan community from deportation and allowing them to obtain an expeditious work permit with which they can integrate into the labor market and support their families; however, it is also worth noting my intention that instead of answering our first question above on immigration, the Trump Administration will be able to implement the measure: To which Venezuelans does the measure actually protect? we should reformulate the question and point out that Venezuelans do not favor the protection measure issued by the outgoing Administration, since there are numerous requirements not to favor Venezuelans who do not:

1. Have voluntarily returned to Venezuela or their country of last habitual residence outside the United States;
2. Have not resided continuously in the United States since January 20, 2021;
3. Are inadmissible under section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 USC 1182(a)(3)) or removable under section 237(a)(4) of the INA (8 USC 1227(a)(4));
4. Who have been convicted of any felony or 2 or more misdemeanors committed in the United States, or who meet the criteria set forth in section 208(b)(2)(A) of the INA (8 USC 1158(b)(2)(A));
5. Who were deported, excluded, or removed before January 20, 2021;
6. Subject to extradition;
7. Whose presence in the United States, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, is not in the interest of the United States or represents a danger to public safety; or
8. Whose presence in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.

I further direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate steps to authorize the employment of aliens whose removal has been deferred, as provided in this memorandum, for the duration of such deferral.

The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

As for the second question:

Will the conditions for the new Biden administration’s immigration changes favor the immediate implementation of the Trump Administration’s measure?

First of all, I think that we should inform our community, and I am sure that they already are, through the National media, that the Biden Administration has emphasized that it will affirm new Executive Orders that will aim to neutralize the immigration policies of the previous Administration. In addition, the new administration will establish a general 100-day moratorium on deportations, And as if that weren’t enough, he will introduce an immigration reform bill before the U.S. Congress from the first day of his administration, which obviously makes us think that the Biden Administration has its own immigration agenda, so we prefer to wait and see what will happen with the new measure announced at the last minute by the outgoing Trump Administration, as my Venezuelan countrymen say: “…It will dawn and we will see!!!” 

Regards!!!